Harriet Potter and the Strange Witch
by Xetarma
Summary: Part 1 of Harriet Potter and the Guardians of Atlantis. Trapped at Privet Drive with her abusive uncle and separated from her godfather, 10 year old Harriet Potter tries to make an escape to the Magical World. Pursued by an agent of the Ministry, Harriet is saved by a mysterious woman who points Harriet in a new direction.
1. The Escape

**Harriet Potter and the Guardians of Atlantis**

**Part 1: Harriet Potter and the Strange Witch**

**Rating: **T for language, mild innuendos, mild violence and scenes of child abuse.

**Warning: **This chapter contains depictions of child abuse.

**Chapter 1: The Escape**

"_Four thousand years ago, the whole world was magic. And what a world it was." _

-The Memoirs of Percival Peverell, 1012 CE

A cool wind blew through the branches of a tree on the edge of a park in Little Whinging, Surrey. The tree was itself rather unremarkable. Indeed the only significant thing about it was how easily climbable it was. That particular feature was currently in use, as a young girl sat in the branches of the tree, enjoying the cool breeze. The girl's name was Harriet Potter, and she lay in the branches, her eyes closed. She was wearing an overly large tee shirt and jeans, hand me downs from her cousin.

_Breathe in, Breathe out,_ she thought to herself, trying to find her focus.

Harriet shifted slightly, wincing in pain as something pushed into the side of her chest. Harriet realized that trying to climb a tree with broken ribs was a bad idea, yet it was one of the few places that gave her some cover. Her minders had yet to learn to look up. And in truth, the pain was nothing compared to what she had felt yesterday. She should have known her Uncle Vernon wouldn't let her 10th birthday pass without an incident. That things would go as horribly as they had was not something she could have anticipated however.

She expected Vernon to take his rage out on her. After all, she was different. She was a witch. And that wasn't a metaphor or insult. She could use magic. Her uncle, along with her aunt and cousin couldn't. And her Uncle hated her for it, and took it out on her at every opportunity.

It hadn't always been this way. Up until her 8th birthday she had lived mostly happily in both the magical and muggle worlds. Which was not to say that everything was perfect. Her uncle had always barely tolerated her. Her Aunt Petunia had clearly wanted a daughter, and had sometimes treated Harriet as such, but other times she had treated her dismissively, almost cruelly. It was clear to Harriet now that there had always been a battle in her aunt's head between Petunia's desire to take care of her sisters daughter and her resentment of anything magical. Dudley had been a spoiled brat, but that Harriet could handle.

But the best part had been her godfather, Sirius Black. He'd shown up once or twice a month, as often as he could, and had shown her the magical world. Diagon Alley, his home at Grimmauld Place, the Ministry of Magic. They'd gone on wilderness trips with Sirius's friend Remus Lupin. He'd taken her to places in the muggle world as well, including amusement parks and zoos. He'd called her Harry, a nickname that made her sound like a boy. She hadn't minded that because having a nickname made her feel special. But above all, he'd been like a father to her, teaching her about magic and giving her solid, if eclectic, advice about her life. _Maybe he told me a bit too much about magic_, Harriet thought, _considering what I'm about to do._

Then, on her 8th birthday, Sirius had a tremendous row with her Uncle Vernon. And the visits had stopped. He had snuck into her relatives' house in his dog animagus form to explain. A man named Lucius Malfoy had accused Sirius of threatening to kill her uncle, and he'd been prohibited from contacting her. Vernon had asked, and had been granted, the further concession that no one from the magical world be allowed to bother them, at least until it was time for Harriet to go to Hogwarts. Sirius had pledged that he would come to visit her in animagus form, but Harriet had forbidden it. She was not about to see her godfather in Azkaban.

She now wished she had not been so successful in convincing him. For a while things had seemed all right. But as her uncle's confidence had grown he had become more and more verbally abusive towards her. An insult here and there became common, and shouting became his only means of communication with her. Soon she was doing more than her fair share of the chores, up to even doing the cooking sometimes. That would have been bad enough, but Harriet had developed a tendency to defy him as she grew inured to his rants. That's when his abuse had become more physical.

The first time it had happened he had been yelling at her for not cooking dinner fast enough. She had replied that she couldn't make the food cook quicker and he'd slapped her. Compared to what he had done since she would barely feel it now. But her aunt had gone ballistic, yelling at Vernon that he had gone too far. The two had gone to bed arguing. The next day her aunt did not come out of their bedroom until late in the day. And from then on she had not intervened when Vernon hit her. Not once. For a long time Harriet had felt betrayed by that. After last night though, she felt she understood why her aunt had stayed quiet.

_Breathe in, Breathe out,_ Harriet repeated to herself.

Her aunt had been an enigma for years. Back when Sirius had been around she'd disapproved of everything he'd ever done with Harriet. Sirius had a foul mouth, and tended to encourage Harriet's more mischievous inclinations, things that her aunt just couldn't stand. Yet when asked, her Aunt Petunia had admitted that Sirius Black was the only magical person she respected.

"He was the only magical person, with the exception of Lily I suppose, to ever give me a choice about anything," she had said to Harriet. It had been over a year later that Harriet realized that the thing Sirius had given her aunt a choice about was Harriet herself. Sirius had asked his aunt if she wanted to care for Harriet, and she had agreed. And in that Harriet saw the problem with her relationship with her aunt. Her aunt detested the magical world, not because she hated magic, but because she had never had a chance to be part of it, and every time it had come into contact with her it had forced her into situations she didn't want.

To her aunt's credit, as Vernon began to hurt Harriet more and more often, Petunia had gone to the police. When she had checked on her case with the police again, she found that they had no record of it, and the officer who had interviewed her had no memory of it. That was when the minders showed up. Apparently they had been there all along, but now they began to show themselves. They were from the DMLE, assigned to make sure no one bothered the famous Harriet Potter. One of them had promised he would report her uncle's abuse to his boss at the DMLE. However on his next shift he had apologized, saying that someone had threatened to harm his family if he did not hide what was happening to Harriet.

Harriet realized that her fame had become a curse. As an infant, a dark wizard named Voldemort had tried to kill her. He had killed her parents. But somehow he had failed to kill her, and had instead been defeated himself. This had made her famous throughout the magical world. But no one would question the DMLE trying to protect a small child from the enemies (or fans) she would almost certainly have. So no one was questioning why they were keeping her completely away from the magical world.

_Breath in, Breathe out._

Dudley was probably the biggest puzzle of all the Dursleys. When he had been younger, he'd had a tendency towards portliness. However, once Harriet had begun to show a modicum of athleticism Aunt Petunia had forced him to be a bit more fit. The result had been that Dudley had discovered his calling as a bully.

In the immediate aftermath of Sirius's banishment, Dudley had been a tremendous annoyance. He'd celebrated when her 9th birthday gift had been to get kicked out of her bedroom and forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs. He'd taunted her, and mocked her that she wasn't able to go on her trips anymore. But slowly things had changed. Even Dudley knew that hitting girls was wrong, it was one of the laws of the playground (not that Harriet herself was opposed to roughhousing if it served her purposes). As Vernon's ire had grown more and more violent, Dudley had become more and more of an ally.

They had created an elaborate deception where Harriet and Dudley did each other's school work, in order to fool Vernon into thinking Dudley was doing better in school than Harriet. Dudley had taken Harriet with him to his friends. His explanation to his father was that he needed someone to do menial tasks for him, but in truth Dudley was teaching Harriet how to fight, something he had a talent for. Not that Dudley was particularly skilled there yet, but he had _some _natural ability his fists.

Where Dudley had been a bit of a bully before, he'd become less so as he taught Harriet. Harriet wasn't sure if he had become a better person, or if he'd just been too busy to do any bullying. In any case, they'd used the skills Dudley taught her to fool Vernon into thinking that Dudley was beginning to abuse Harriet as well. It was all an act, but it was one they had become good at. Vernon, happy that his son was following in his footsteps in this, had even begun to hurt Harriet less.

And then last night, it had all come crashing down.

_Breathe in, Breathe out._

Vernon had been angry last night. He'd had a bad day. After hitting Harriet a few times, Dudley had volunteered to take over, and had mock hit her a few times. Dudley wasn't exactly the most graceful person in the world, so a lot of his blows still connected, but they were merely uncomfortable as opposed to actually harmful to her. But Vernon wasn't satisfied. He wanted her to scream. And so he'd pulled out a stick that had been a part of his school uniform at Smeltings, his old boarding school. The resulting beating had almost certainly broken some of her ribs. But that wasn't it. Dudley had finally had enough and had tried to physically stop his father from hurting her by standing in between them.

And then he'd been hit with the stick.

Vernon hadn't even been sorry. He'd just told Dudley he was disappointed in him and sent him to his room. Her aunt Petunia had gone white. And in her eyes was the same look Harriet remembered from the first time Vernon had struck Harriet. And in that moment Harriet had understood. Her aunt had seen the possibility that Vernon would hurt Dudley, and she would do anything to prevent that. Part of that realization made Harriet sad. No matter what, she now knew Petunia could never be a real mother to her. She would always put Dudley first. But at the same time she couldn't blame her anymore. Petunia was just as much a victim as she was, trapped in this house under threat of violence from her husband, forced to watch him brutalize her niece, trying desperately to do everything she could to keep the same fate from befalling her son.

That night Dudley had sneaked downstairs. He had brought bandages and they had wrapped her broken ribs. And she'd seen the defiance ringing in his eyes. The attack by his father had not broken Dudley. Instead it had lit a fire in him. And he'd promised her he'd stall for her today as long as he could. She had to make her escape.

_Breathe in, Breathe out. _

Harriet struggled to maintain her focus. She didn't really know any magic, but that didn't matter. She'd found a stone that would fit in the palm of her hand, but had a smooth flat surface. Pulling it out of her pocket she looked at the rune she'd painted on it. She'd spent ages trying to find a book on ancient nordic runes. When she had she had carefully inscribed the rune for power on this stone.

But it hadn't been enough. She needed a magical component. Her aunt had seen the stone today before Harriet had left. She'd asked why she'd traced the rune in red paint. It wasn't paint though. It was the only magical substance that Harriet had access to. Her own blood.

_Breathe in, Breathe out._

Harriet could feel the magic calling to her through the runestone. Yet just unleashing it could have catastrophic effects. She had to be focused, to make sure she hit her intended target. She might not get another chance. She didn't know if this would work even once. She had to be focused.

Slowly she pocketed the runestone and climbed down from the tree. And she began to walk. Not towards home, but away. How she was going to get all the way to Diagon Alley she didn't know. But she had to. If she could just get to where magical people were she could cry out; scream "I'm Harriet Potter and my uncle is abusing me." There would be no hiding that. But getting to Diagon or the Leaky Cauldron would be an almost impossible task. Still, Harriet had to try.

"There you are Potter," said a familiar, unpleasant voice.

_Runcorn,_ thought Harriet.

_Breathe in, Breathe out._

Roger Runcorn was rather seedy looking, the younger brother of what Harriet assumed had to be the far more impressive Albert Runcorn. He wore robes, which he probably shouldn't have, given that he was in a muggle neighborhood. The robes were dirty (Harriet suspected that Runcorn didn't launder them as much as he should). He had a sneer on his face.

"Come now Potter, you're going the wrong way," said Runcorn, "You aren't thinking of giving me trouble are you."

_Breathe in, Breathe out._

Runcorn was by far the most sadistic of her captors. Not only did he know she was being abused, he enjoyed it. He actually tried to get Harriet in trouble more so that she'd get more beatings. Harriet suspected his family had supported Voldemort, but that was neither here nor there. Though she wondered why he acted with such impunity. After all, eventually she would re-enter the magical world. Wouldn't he be caught then? His lack of concern for this worried Harriet a lot. Just another reason to escape.

"I don't want to cause trouble for anyone," she said levelly as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her runestone.

"Then let's head back to number 4," said Runcorn impatiently.

_Breathe In, _she thought as she began to pull magic through the runestone.

"Come on!" he said angrily as he reached for her arm.

"No!" she shouted, thrusting her fist forward, unleashing the magic she had gathered in an uncontrolled burst. The blast knocked Runcorn back and had him sprawled on the ground.

Harriet didn't waste time. She immediately started running.

She ran down the street, turning at the first intersection. There was another row of houses there which were unfamiliar to Harriet. The street was empty except for a woman who was jogging towards Harriet. From the street she had just left, Harriet heard the sound of quick footsteps.

_Damn,_ she thought, _he recovered quickly._

She ran toward the strange woman. The woman looked to be in her late 20's. She had black hair, and was relatively pale skinned. Harriet thought that she had an ethereal beauty about her that she couldn't quite describe. She was wearing a cropped exercise top and baggy athletic shorts, and had a tall bottle of water strapped around her waist. A very tall bottle. The woman looked at her in surprise.

"Are you all right?" said the woman. She had an accent that Harriet couldn't quite identify; it sounded like a mix of French and German.

Harriet had one chance. Most likely this woman would just get her memory wiped, but if she could distract Runcorn for a second…

"There's a man after me," said Harriet, "He wants to take me back to my abusive uncle. Please help me!"

The woman's eyes narrowed.

"Look what he did!" Harriet said lifting her shirt to show her bandages.

Runcorn came running around the corner, breathing heavily. He clearly wasn't used to heavy physical activity.

"I see," said the woman. She put a hand on Harriet's shoulder. "I won't let him take you."

Runcorn ran up, "Harriet, you need to come with me, NOW!" he said angrily.

"The young lady does not wish to accompany you," said the strange woman, "I think you should leave."

"This is none of your concern," said Runcorn sinisterly, "If you know what is good for you, you will leave."

The woman shook her head. "Not happening."

Harriet lifted her hand, which still had the runestone in it. At the same time Runcorn put his hand under his robe, clearly gripping his wand. "You'll regret this. Well, you won't, but you would if you were going to remember it."

Harriet tried to summon her magic again. It was harder this time, as if she was somehow tired. But it came to her after a moment. And focusing her anger on Runcorn she thrust forth her hand and shouted, "No you don't!"

"_Protego!_" shouted Runcorn as Harriet's magic released. It splashed harmlessly against his shield. Harriet's heart sank.

And then the woman put her fingers into her water bottle. It wasn't a water bottle though, Harriet realized, it was a glamour. The woman had pulled out a wand! "_Stupefy,"_ she said calmly.

Runcorn was so surprised he didn't have time to cast or dodge. He just collapsed in a heap.

"You're a witch!" said Harriet excitedly.

"Just so, Miss Potter," said the witch, causing Harriet to start.

The woman laughed, "Are you so surprised that I recognize you with that scar on your forehead?"

Harriet grabbed her forehead. She'd almost forgotten. That scar was all that remained of the curse that Voldemort had used on her so many years ago.

"That was exceptional accidental magic though," said the witch.

"It wasn't accidental," said Harriet as she held up her runestone.

The witch looked at it for a moment. "How did you get this to work? You'd need magical…" the witch trailed off.

"Is that your blood?" she asked sharply. Harriet nodded. The witch looked impressed by that.

"Very, very good work there, but the Ministry almost certainly detected you using that. And there's no telling whether the person they send will be friend or foe."

Harriet looked at the woman confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I am aware of the fact that you have been deliberately cut off from the magical world. And any person from the DMLE might just return you to your uncle if they find you here," said the witch.

"Can you take me to Diagon Alley?" asked Harriet.

The witch considered this. "Unfortunately, as a foreigner, I could be deported if I commit a crime. That cannot happen. Simply put, if we failed to get our case to the right ears, I would go down with you."

Harriet's heart sank.

The witch gave Harriet a kind smile. "That does not mean I do not intend to help you however. You need to get to someone who is not bound by the ministry, yet can also bring you in contact with the magical world."

"And that's a small task?" asked Harriet sarcastically.

"Normally it would be difficult, yes," admitted the witch, "But by coincidence two such people live in the next town over. They are muggles, but their daughter is a witch who is not yet Hogwarts age. They discovered magic some time ago, but as they were never officially informed, they do not fall under the Ministry's watchful eye, at least not yet."

"How do you know this?" asked Harriet.

The witch shook her head, "This is not the time for stories. But I'm sure you will discover more in time."

"Who are you?" Harriet asked, suddenly suspicious.

"I would prefer my name not be associated with this," said the witch, "But we will meet again,"

"What about him?" Harriet asked.

"I'll make sure he doesn't remember what happened," said the witch.

The woman quickly gave instructions on how to get to the place of work of the two people she was to meet. It wasn't very far at all, it would take less than twenty minutes to walk there.

"How will I know the place?" asked Harriet after the witch had finished.

"It is a dentists' practice," said the witch, "Their names are the Grangers. Helen and Robert. Their daughter is Hermione."

Harriet nodded and began to walk away. She turned back to thank the woman, but she had disappeared, as had Runcorn.

"Move quickly," she heard a voice whisper in her ear.

Harriet could ponder this later. She began to run, this time with a direction and a purpose.

**Author's Note: **I'm posting two chapters because this one was so short, but I felt it would be best if the first chapter focuses on the titular Strange Witch.


	2. A Visit to the Dentist

**Warning: **This chapter contains depictions of child abuse.

**Chapter 2: A Visit to the Dentist**

Runcorn woke up groaning. He couldn't remember what he was doing under this tree. Hadn't he been looking for Potter? Looking down he saw a tree branch lying next to him. Had a branch just fallen on him?

Runcorn shook his head. There was no way this was a coincidence. That little bitch must have dropped a branch on him intentionally. But without knowing how long he had been out he had to figure Potter had a head start on him.

Runcorn gave a frustrated sigh. He'd have to contact Lucius. No way in hell he reported this to Amelia Bones. If she found out what was happening here…

XXXXX

Harriet made good time across town. The Grangers' dental practice really wasn't far away. But she still felt incredibly vulnerable out in the open. Once she arrived she entered the building immediately, and felt a surge of relief. Whatever happened, she wasn't likely to be found here. At least not for a while.

She walked up to the receptionist. "Hello there, I need to speak with one of the Grangers."

The receptionist looked at her with a kindly smile. "Do you have an appointment?"

Harriet shook her head. "No this isn't a dental issue, it is a personal issue," she said.

"Do the Grangers know you?" asked the receptionist, who was beginning to frown.

"Not exactly," said Harriet, "It's kind of hard to explain."

"You need to speak to the Grangers?" said a young voice. A girl with bushy brown hair who was just a little older than Harriet had walked up. The receptionist gave the girl a pained look.

"You are Hermione?" asked Harriet excitedly.

The girl smiled in a buck-toothed grin. "You've heard of me?" she asked.

Harriet considered this for a moment. "I'll put my case to you then. I need to speak to your parents."

"About?" asked Hermione.

Harriet looked around. Aside from the receptionist, there were several people in the waiting room. "Maybe this isn't the place. It has to do with a... special ability we share."

Hermione's eyes widened. "This way," she said as she gestured toward an empty exam room.

"Hermione!" said the receptionist.

"Sorry, this might be very important!" said Hermione apologetically.

Leading Harriet into the room, Hermione closed the door. "I'm not usually here, but the woman my parents usually have babysit me was sick today. I don't cause a fuss and there is a lot I can learn here. So, I'm assuming from what you said that you are magical."

Hermione's sudden shift in direction took Harriet by surprise for a moment. "Uh, yes," said Harriet as she fought to recover, "I live in Little Whinging with my aunt and uncle. My name is Harriet Potter."

Hermione showed no reaction to the name, which was actually reassuring to Harriet. "Anyway, my relatives are all muggles, but both my parents were magical. But to make a long story short, my uncle has cut me off from the magical world. Furthermore, he's… hurting me."

"Hurting you?" said Hermione with as her eyes narrowed.

"He hits me. Hard. Yesterday he broke some of my ribs." Harriet lifted her shirt again to show her bandages. As she did, she saw something flare in Hermione's eyes.

"Why is he doing that?" said Hermione. Her voice was even though it was clear she was trying to stay in control.

"He doesn't like magic. Also yesterday was my birthday and he likes to "teach me a lesson" on that day, whatever _that _means," answered Harriet.

"Your aunt just lets this happen?" demanded Hermione.

"She stood up for me the first time it happened," Harriet cast her eyes to the floor, "I think he hurt her after she did though. My cousin definitely got hurt when he stood up for me yesterday."

Hermione's face when from outraged to sad in an instant. "I'm sorry… I… I'll get my parents.

And she left the room.

XXXXX

Hermione was stunned by what she had just seen and heard. She couldn't believe that an adult could hurt a child like that. She walked up to Mary, the receptionist. "My parents need to talk to her immediately," she said.

"We're very busy today Hermione,' said Mary.

Hermione shook her head. "Not that busy," said Hermione, "She's being abused."

Mary gave Hermione a horrified look. "I'll get your father."

XXXXX

Harriet started when the door opened again. Hermione came in leading a man in his mid thirties. "This is my father, Robert Granger. Daddy this is…"

But Robert Granger was looking right at Harriet's forehead. "Harriet Potter," he said in disbelief, "I haven't seen you since you were a baby. We briefly lived in Godric's Hollow."

"You knew my parents?" asked Harriet.

Robert Granger shook his head, "Unfortunately not. The one time I met you was… well this is not the best time to talk about that."

"Ah," said Harriet as she felt a pang of sadness. He had obviously met her the night her parents died.

"Hermione says you are being abused, that your uncle is hurting you, and that he threatens to hurt your aunt and cousin if they try to help you," said Robert.

"That is correct," said Harriet.

"Have you contacted the police?" asked Robert.

"No good," said Harriet, "You see a couple years back, my godfather got in an argument with my Uncle Vernon. My uncle claimed that my godfather threatened to kill him, and asked that anyone from the magical world be prohibited from contacting me. So now there are guards who prevent people from contacting me. Except when my aunt tried to contact the police, they also destroyed the police report and wiped the memory of the constable who assisted her."

"I have met Sirius Black," said Robert, "While he can be an... intense individual, I don't see him threatening to hurt someone. Though I must admit, I don't know him very well."

"The fact remains that it is illegal for anyone in the magical world to contact me. One woman helped me escape from my minders, but she didn't dare do more and sent me to you. They will be hunting me. We need to get someone from the magical world to help us, but we need to get them here without telling them that it's me who's in trouble."

Robert exhaled in frustration. "There aren't a lot of people I know to contact, though I suppose I could try Minerva McGonagall or…" he stopped for a moment.

"I was told there was a woman nearby who was on the Wizengamot," he said, "I was told to contact her if I had any problems. She might be able to help."

Robert turned to Hermione. "Keep Harriet company while I'm gone, I'm going to see if this woman can help us."

Robert turned to Harriet. "Don't leave this room. I doubt you'll be looked for here, but staying in this room should prevent any searchers from seeing you."

Harriet nodded as Robert left the room.

XXXXX

Lucius Malfoy looked at Roger Runcorn with a sneer of disgust. Runcorn had seriously complicated the entire situation with Potter, and Lucius wasn't sure what to do about it.

The first thing Lucius had done when Runcorn showed up on his doorstep had been to run a basic medical spell which could detect obliviation. Luckily, he had not come up as having been obliviated. Unless the person who had obliviated him was also a master occlumens there was no way there would be no sign at all. However the lack of obliviation also meant that Runcorn had been outsmarted by a 10 year old girl.

This was not the first time Albert's younger brother had made things complicated. He was the one who had initially started covering up Vernon Dursley's abuse. That had been an unwelcome development. If it came to light it could serve a purpose in raising anti-muggle sentiment. But since Lucius was the one who had championed Vernon it would hurt him politically as well. With Barty Crouch as the Minister for Magic he had very little political influence left to begin with.

Then Runcorn had actually tried to hex Potter, which had been useful in that they discovered that any spell used to try to harm Potter would be reflected back at the caster. Lucius assumed this was the same magic that had been used to destroy the Dark Lord. But it also complicated any attempt to silence her. They could use magic to return her to her relatives' home, but anything more hostile would be reflected.

Lucius had come to the conclusion that he was going to have to deal with Potter somehow. Probably he'd Imperius the muggle uncle and have him kill the girl, then he'd blame the whole thing on Runcorn. It was tricky of course, but it could be done.

Yet Lucius felt strangely reluctant to do this. He'd killed before, in the service of the Dark Lord, though he'd never killed a child. And Lucius was starting to realize that ever since Draco had been born he'd had more and more difficulty with the idea of harming children. It was stupid and soft of him of course. Yet Lucius couldn't deny the truth. He didn't want to kill Harriet Potter.

Not that this would stop him of course. He would do anything to maintain his diminishing political authority, he told himself as his hunters finally arrived. Potter would be returned to her home, and in a few months he'd have her killed. There was no use debating it in his head.

XXXXX

The house Robert Granger drove up to looked old, almost Victorian era. If someone had told him that this house was haunted, he'd believe it. It definitely had the look. Still, he wasn't particularly superstitious, though he had never really asked Sirius or McGonagall whether ghosts were real. Maybe they weren't.

As Robert got closer to the house, he saw that the view from the road was a bit misleading. The paint was a bit brighter than it had seemed, and the closer he got to the home, the brighter it got. He supposed that it was somehow enchanted to discourage visitors, but he had no idea how.

The door had a large door-knocker on it emblazoned with an emblem of a Gryffin. He lifted it and knocked three times. A few moments later, an elderly woman answered the door.

The woman looked at him suspiciously, "I don't know you," she said after a moment.

"Pardon my manners," said Robert, "My name is Dr. Robert Granger. You are, I assume, Griselda Marchbanks?"

The old woman nodded, "You know my name, but you are no wizard," she said ominously.

"My daughter is a witch, and I was told if I have any magical issues you would be the person in this area I can contact," said Robert.

Griselda's face brightened, "Oh! The parent of a muggleborn! That's a different story. What seems to be the problem?"

"A young magical girl came into my practice today and claimed she is being abused by her muggle relatives," said Robert.

Griselda let in a sharp intake of breath. ""We need to contact the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. What is her name?"

Robert shook his head. "The girl would prefer you did not contact the DMLE, but would instead prefer you come see her yourself. She has reasons, reasons that will be obvious the moment you set eyes upon her. For the same reasons she doesn't want me giving her name, but…"

Griselda's eyes widened. "Oh, bloody hell! This better not be what I think it is. If it is I will kill Lucius Malfoy."

"I have a car, if you would follow me," said Robert, a little intimidated by this woman.

"Hold on a moment," said Griselda as she turned back into her house, "There is someone I want to bring along."

XXXXX

Harriet wasn't quite sure what to make of Hermione. The older girl's heart was in the right place, but Hermione was not exactly the most subtle person in the world. After her father left she had started asking questions about Harriet's home life. Harriet didn't mind exactly, but she wasn't exactly enthusiastic about having to relive some of these things twice.

"I'd rather not talk about my relatives, if that's okay with you," she finally told Hermione.

"Oh, of course, I'm sorry," said Hermione, her face turning downcast.

"It's okay, I've had to live with this for a long time," said Harriet, "It's just nice to get away from it for a while you know?"

"I guess," said Hermione, "though aren't you burning to tell everyone?"

"Everyone who can help me sure," agreed Harriet, "But no offense, you can't really help me at this point."

Hermione's face looked even more despondent after that. Somehow Harriet didn't think Hermione had a lot of friends. She was bossy, overly curious, and seemed to rub her intelligence in to everyone she met. Harriet recognized that for what it was though. It was just lack of practice. Hermione needed to learn how to relate to people.

"Listen, you've been very nice," said Harriet, "but you have parents who love you. You haven't been through nearly as many horrible things as I have. The fact that you don't really understand what I'm going through is a good thing. You've never been separated from your family like I have been from my godfather. I hope you never are. I'd just prefer to talk about something else for a bit okay? I promise you, when the time comes to tell, I'll let you listen in."

Hermione brightened up. "Okay. What is the best thing about the magical world?"

Harriet smiled. "Quidditch."

Ten minutes later and Hermione was begging Harriet to stop talking about Quidditch. Harriet supposed it probably wasn't that interesting to someone who had never flown on a broom or seen it in person.

The door opened, and Helen Granger poked her head in. "You two all right?" she asked.

Harriet nodded, as did Hermione.

"We're fine mother," Hermione said firmly.

"Just making sure," she said before leaving again.

"My mother is a worrier sometimes," said Hermione.

"It's nice that she cares," said Harriet.

Soon Hermione was telling Harriet all about the books she had read over the summer. Unfortunately they were all school textbooks for next year. Harriet was all for doing well in school, but she thought Hermione took it a little far.

"What do you do for fun though?" asked Harriet.

"Learning is fun," said Hermione defensively.

"Sure," said Harriet, "but there are other ways to have fun,"

"What do you suggest Harriet?" asked Hermione.

"I don't know what you like,"said Harriet. Suddenly she made an impulsive decision. Hermione really needed help if all she did for fun was study.

"Also, my friends call me Harry," Harriet said with a smile.

"Ssss...sure Harry," said Hermione, stammering over the first sound excitedly. Harriet wondered if things were really that bad.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, and Robert Granger came in with two elderly women. One Harriet didn't recognize, but the other she had met once before.

"It's good to see you again Professor McGonagall," said Harriet happily.

"And you too Miss Potter," said Minerva McGonagall, "I wish the circumstances were better."

"This is Griselda Marchbanks," said Robert hastily, indicating the witch that Harriet didn't know.

"I am a member of the Wizengamot, as well as Governor of the Wizarding Examinations Authority," said Griselda, "Technically neither Minerva nor I should be here, however both of us have a duty to protect the children of the wizarding world. We will not betray your trust Harriet."

Harriet immediately recognized that this was her chance, both of these women had a certain status in the magical world. The were both to be taken very seriously. But she also knew that she would need more than that to guarantee that the Wizengamot would hear her pleas.

"I'm very glad to meet you Governor Marchbanks," said Harriet humbly, "I do hope you can carry a message to my godfather, I've missed him so much." That ought to hit the right amount of pathos.

Griselda smiled slightly. Clearly she could see right through Harriet's ruse of meekness. "I will, of course, do all that I can."

XXXXX

Griselda walked away from her meeting with Harriet Potter in a towering rage.

Oh, she had to admit that Potter had played the meek victim for all that she was worth. But Griselda had seen right through that. Potter wasn't anywhere near broken by what had happened to her. Minerva had fallen for it of course, but she always had been overly sentimental. Still, it had been an excellent performance.

But for all her posturing, Griselda had noticed little things, like the way Harriet had pulled towards Hermione when the adults had entered the room. Harriet had precious little trust for adults, with the sole exception seeming to be Sirius Black. So when they'd sent Robert from the room and Harriet had demanded that Hermione stay, Griselda had agreed as if it were unimportant. But even though she was certain Harriet would deny it, Hermione had made her feel a little safer, which had probably made things much easier.

Minerva had been worried that Hermione would hear things she didn't need to hear at her age, and Griselda, having now heard the worst, was fairly certain she would have insisted Hermione leave if she'd known the extent of Dursley's brutality. But Griselda was glad she hadn't. Hermione had been very mature about the whole thing, and had even thought to comfort Harriet through some of the more intense moments. Hermione had a good heart, even if she clearly had few friends, and it seemed Harriet had taken a shine to her.

Griselda was impressed by Harriet's maturity as well. She'd managed to remain coherent through her entire interview. When she'd reached the part of the story about her broken ribs, she'd immediately shown them her bandaged chest. Minerva had thought this improper, but Harriet had replied that she'd show her injuries to everyone she met if it meant getting away from her uncle. Griselda considered this a sign of excellent judgement. She knew how to prioritize.

It was clear to her that Dursley was right on the edge of completely losing control. But with the memories she had of her talk with Harriet she felt confident that the Wizengamot would see reason.

As for the remarkable Miss Potter and Miss Granger, Griselda had remembered an old friend who had always asked her to refer him any brilliant youngsters, in case he was looking for a new apprentice at some point. Granger and Potter hadn't even entered Hogwarts yet, but Griselda made a mental note to mention them the next time she spoke to Nicolas.

The one sticking point had been what to do with Harriet. Above practically everyone's objections, she had decided to head back to the Dursleys. Harriet didn't want to get anyone in trouble, and besides, if Harriet didn't return home her uncle might hurt her cousin Dudley. Griselda was again impressed by Harriet's selflessness. Or did she just not value her own life?

Once she and Minerva had left the Granger's practice, she turned to Minerva. "I will inform Albus," she said, "No reason to force you to give such news to your boss."

Minerva nodded. "I will inform Sirius. I suppose he and Albus will want to approach Crouch together."

"It wouldn't do to have me suggest it to Crouch," said Griselda dryly. Minerva nodded. Barty Crouch still hadn't forgiven her for what she had said in the first Wizengamot meeting after he had become Minister for Magic.

"Let's get to it then," said Minerva. Griselda nodded. Whatever her other faults, Minerva knew when the time for talk was over. It was time for action.

** Author's Note: ** This chapter was also quite short. Subsequent chapters are much longer. This story is far more carefully planned out than The Twisted Path, so chapter size tends to vary a bit based on what I need.


	3. On the Warpath

**Warning: **This chapter contains depictions of child abuse. The last one though, I promise!

**Chapter 3: On the Warpath**

Sirius Black awoke to a pounding headache. Part of the headache was certainly due to the copious amount of Firewhiskey he had put back last night. But part of it was also probably due to the fact that someone had decided to wake him by punching him in the head.

"Ow," he said in a slurred voice, as he tried to orient himself, "Is tha' you Remus?"

"Yes Sirius, it's me," said the calm voice of Remus Lupin, "You'd best get up. I'll be sending Kreacher up here next, and he doesn't like you nearly as much as I do."

Sirius laughed grimly, "The feeling's mutual," he said, "Anyway, can't I sleep in this morning?"

"It's one in the afternoon," said Remus, "I get that you're upset, I'm just as upset as you are, but wallowing in self-pity isn't going to help Harry."

Sirius smiled as he heard the nickname he and Remus had given Harriet. She'd loved it of course. Magical society was a bit on the conservative side, and there were more than a few people who thought it was improper to call a girl by a boy's name. Which meant Harry had immediately insisted that everyone call her that all the time.

"I suppose I should get some food," said Sirius, "How long are you staying around for Remus?"

"Till Sunday," said Remus, "Full moon is on Monday, and I actually have work to do after that."

"You will make sure to take your potion?" said Sirius opening his eyes finally, "I know, you're the responsible one, but I couldn't take it if I lost another of my friends."

Remus nodded, "I will Sirius. Thanks for letting me stay here by the way."

Sirius shook his head, "It is never an imposition, unless it's a full moon I suppose. Dealing with _that_ in the middle of London might be a bit dicey."

"Get up, I'll have Kreacher make sandwiches," said Remus as he left the room.

Sirius really was grateful to Remus today. He'd done fairly well yesterday, up until he'd opened the bottle of Firewhiskey. He didn't remember much after that, though he didn't really need to. He'd probably kept going on about how he'd failed James and Lily, and little Harry. Oh and he'd probably tried to turn into Padfoot and sneak into the Dursleys' home. Remus never went into details about what had happened, but last year it had been worse around Harry's birthday. Most of the time, Sirius could be an adult, but on certain days…

Sirius groaned as he stood up. He really needed to lay off the booze. He couldn't handle it nearly as well as he once had. He grabbed a bathrobe that was lying over an ornate chair. He hated this room. It had been his parents' room. But Sirius had some crazy hope that at some time Harry would come to live with him. She'd like his old room. Well except for the pictures of biker girls in bikinis on the walls. Those would be pretty hard to get down, though. He remembered what he'd had to do to keep his parents from tearing them down.

Sirius somehow managed to make his way down to the kitchen. Kreacher was just setting out the sandwiches. "You didn't poison mine, did you?" he said, half-joking.

"My master is so kind to Kreacher, yes he is," said the ancient house elf, "He's always so thankful for the things that Kreacher does for him."

Sirius remembered the talking to Harry had given him when she'd caught him mistreating Kreacher. "Sorry, Kreacher, I'm just out of sorts today."

Kreacher nodded in acknowledgement then placed a copy of the Daily Prophet down in front of Sirius. He then quietly slipped out of the room.

Remus arrived a moment later and soon he and Sirius were talking about the latest from the Wizengamot. Crouch's latest effort to revive anti-werewolf legislation had died before it had a chance to get off the ground. Sirius was glad. Sirius was a member of the Wizengamot, and he had long been allies with Crouch on a number of issues. But Sirius wasn't about to turn on the last of his childhood friends, and the last time Crouch had pushed a werewolf bill it had brought the two to loggerheads.

Suddenly there was a knock at the door. "Kreacher, tell them I'm busy!" Sirius shouted. He didn't want to see anyone today. Well anyone but his goddaughter, but that wasn't happening.

A moment later Kreacher came into the kitchen. "Minerva McGonagall is here to speak with you. She says it is urgent."

Sirius suddenly straightened up. The head of Gryffindor house was not someone to call upon people lightly. "I will be right with her," he said. Standing up he adjusted his robe and made sure he was decent. Then he walked out into the foyer.

"Professor!" he said with genuine warmth, "It has been too long. Please take a seat in the sitting room while I get dressed."

"I'd be happy to keep you company while Sirius manages to find the only clean set of clothes that he has," said Remus, who had followed Sirius out of the kitchen.

Minerva smiled faintly. "I see some things never change,"

"He exaggerates!" said Sirius defensively, "I will be right back."

Sirius ran up the stairs two at a time. McGonagall was not one to waste people's time. Whatever she had to say would certainly be interesting.

XXXXX

Sirius walked into the sitting room dressed in red and gold robes. McGonagall rolled her eyes a bit when she saw it, but she also had a bit of a smile on her face.

"Now what brings you to my home today," asked Sirius, "This is, as far as I can tell, a first."

"Well earlier today I received a floo call from Griselda Marchbanks," said McGonagall.

"Good woman," said Sirius with grandiosity, "I especially liked it when she called Barty Crouch a 'petty tyrant" and a 'two-knut dictator' on the floor of the Wizengamot."

"I thought you got on well with Barty Crouch," said McGonagall.

"Not when he's proposing anti-werewolf legislation," said Remus darkly.

"Oh, I remember now," said McGonagall, "He still hasn't forgiven her for that apparently."

Sirius shook his head joyfully. "No he has not. He forgave me more quickly!"

"Anyway," continued McGonagall, "Griselda asked me to accompany her to meet a magical child who had been abused."

Sirius stopped his gesticulating immediately. "Now that is unfortunate," he said, "I take it you need some assistance from me."

"Well," said Minerva uncomfortably, "The girl in question lived one town over from Griselda. In Little Whinging."

Sirius went dead quiet. Little Whinging. No. It couldn't be.

And then Sirius felt something snap. He was on his feet in a moment and about to pull out his wand when McGonagall yelled "What do you think you are doing?"

Sirius turned to McGonagall. "I'm going to kill Vernon Dursley."

"Remus talk some sense into Sirius," pleaded McGonagall.

"I'm not sure he's wrong," said Remus. Sirius grinned at him savagely.

"Sirius, THINK," begged McGonagall, "If you keep your head we can get you custody of Harriet! But if you rush off you'll end up in Azkaban."

"She's right, you don't need to be keeping Peter company," said Remus. Sirius frowned at the mention of his former friend, but he took the point. He sat back down.

"What happened?" asked Sirius pointedly.

"Apparently, at some point Vernon became physically abusive," said McGonagall, "And he is getting worse. Even worse than that, someone has been using magic to keep him from getting in trouble with the muggle police."

Sirius growled, "Lucius," he practically grunted.

"Anyway, Harriet managed to construct herself a runestone,"

"How did she do that?" asked Remus, "She can't have had access to magical materials."

McGonagall nodded, "She… used her own blood."

Part of Sirius raged at this information. That Harry had been forced to go to such lengths to protect herself sent waves of fury through him. Yet, he was also impressed. To even think to do such a thing showed a very clear understanding of fundamental magic. He was proud of her. And he was going to make the people who had forced her to do it pay.

"Anyway she managed to briefly get away from Roger Runcorn, but he was catching up to her when she ran into a foreign witch who stunned Runcorn," said McGonagall.

"So that witch contacted Griselda?" asked Sirius.

"No, she was afraid she'd be deported," said McGonagall, "but here's the strangest thing. This witch, whom Harriet is apparently both unwilling and unable to identify, told her to visit the _Grangers_, who have moved to Surrey."

"HOW?" asked Sirius, genuinely shocked, "Aside from the three of us, Dumbledore, and a few Obliviators, no one knows that the Grangers are anyone other than a normal muggle family."

"I don't know," said McGonagall, "but it bears investigating. In any case, I had given Robert Granger Griselda's address before he moved, so he contacted her about this. And she contacted me."

Sirius nodded, then suddenly went pale as he thought of something. "Yesterday was Harriet's birthday, tell me he didn't…"

McGonagall shook her head sadly, "He hit her with a stick until he broke one of her ribs. And when her cousin tried to intervene he hit him with the stick as well."

Sirius was genuinely surprised that Dudley had intervened, but he supposed it was possible that watching his father brutalize a young girl had moved even his conscience.

"Petunia let this happen?" he said regretfully.

"Harriet insists she tried to stop it initially, then tried to report it to the police," McGonagall hesitated, "Harriet thinks that she stopped protecting her because Vernon hurt her, and because she felt he would harm Dudley if she didn't stop."

Sirius sighed, "Sounds like she was right unfortunately." Suddenly Sirius remembered something. "Are you telling me that the DMLE appointed minders did NOTHING about this?"

"Apparently one of them intended to, but his family was threatened and he did not," said McGonagall, "Harriet wasn't sure who was behind that. She thought it might be Lucius, but it was possible that it was just Runcorn. In any case, the rest of the DMLE minders must be on Lucius' payroll. Runcorn almost certainly is.

Remus nodded. "That man is vile. I wouldn't put anything past him."

Sirius remembered the encounter they'd had with Runcorn a year ago. He'd practically taunted Sirius about losing custody of Harry, and had threatened to arrest Lupin for being a werewolf. He'd filed a complaint, and Amelia Bones had been sympathetic, but ultimately nothing had come of it. Barty Crouch wasn't interested in stopping anti-werewolf prejudice.

"So where do we go from here?" asked Sirius.

"Right now Griselda is telling Albus the exact same thing I'm telling you. At 2:30 the two of you need to meet at the Ministry and ask to see Barty Crouch. Tell him what happened. On this matter he was definitely on your side, if you recall."

Sirius nodded.

"Griselda believes he will call an emergency session for tomorrow. It is vital that you suggest this because, well, Harriet went back to the Dursleys." said McGonagall.

"WHAT?!" shouted both Remus and Sirius at the same time.

"She was afraid Vernon would hurt Dudley or Petunia," McGonagall said sadly, "And given that even we didn't have any right to be speaking to her…"

SIrius nearly growled again, but he knew she was right. She hadn't had a choice.

Sirius leapt to his feet again, "You'll testify at the meeting?"

"Yes, and I'll submit my memories of my interview with Harriet," said McGonagall, "Trust me, Lucius is going to have a very bad day tomorrow."

XXXXX

Harriet walked back in the door of #4 Privet drive. She was greeted by her cousin.

"They caught you, huh?" said Dudley sadly.

Harriet grinned, "No they didn't."

"Why did you come back then?" Dudley asked, confused.

"Because," Harriet said with a smile, "I want to be here when they take him away."

XXXXX

Barty Crouch was having a rough week. His werewolf bill had failed to get enough support from his own allies to even consider sending it to the Wizengamot, the latest opinion polls showed that most magicals thought that he was out of touch with the common wizard, and now someone was setting off completely unidentifiable magic in Surrey.

And then his secretary told him that Albus Dumbledore and Sirius Black wanted to see him. Barty got along with Sirius well enough, despite their occasional differences. He had trusted Black ever since he had helped the DMLE bring in Pettigrew, right at the end of the war. But both him and Dumbledore together bode poorly for the rest of his day. Still, one didn't refuse to receive Albus Dumbledore.

Sirius and Albus came in, both with grim expressions on their faces.

"I hope this is quick, I'm up to my ears in trying to figure out exactly what in the bloody hell is going on in Surrey," said Barty.

Sirius started a bit, though Dumbledore remained impassive. "What happened in Surrey?" asked Dumbledore.

"Someone is using weird unidentified magic, we've never seen anything like it. Some of the scans we are doing suggest it might be blood magic of some sort, so we're understandably worried,"

"Oh, I bet that was Harry," said Sirius.

Now it was Crouch's turn to start. "Sirius, what have you done," growled Crouch angrily.

"I have been working off a hangover all day, I've done nothing," replied Sirius with a faux pained expression, "No, I'm afraid Harriet decided to make a break for it all on her own. And she managed to contact Griselda Marchbanks and Minerva McGonagall."

Barty narrowed his eyes, "That doesn't explain…"

"She made a runestone using her own blood," explained Sirius, "It was the only magical material she had you see. And do you know why she was so desperate to get away?"

Crouch had a bad feeling about this. And 10 minutes later when his bad feeling had been confirmed, he was issuing orders to convene an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot, as well as calling for Amelia Bones.

Merlin's Beard, he was going to pin Lucius to the wall this time!

XXXXX

Lucius entered the Wizengamot chambers, his face giving no sign of the worry which was gnawing at him. When he'd received word that Harriet had been found at the Dursleys he'd briefly believed that things were under control. Then he had received a summons to an emergency meeting of the Wizengamot. The fact that there was less than one day's notice given meant that something had lit a fire under Barty Crouch's feet.

"Do you know what this is about Lucius?" asked Bryant Greengrass. Greengrass was a fellow blood supremacist, but he had openly opposed the Dark Lord. Consequently, once Barty Crouch had taken over as Minister for Magic he had become the face of the pureblood movement.

"I don't," said Lucius, "and I'm worried."

Suddenly, Barty Crouch Jr. walked over. "Do you have time to speak about the new demands the French are making? They really are being most unreasonable in regards to cauldron thickness."

Lucius nodded. Barty Jr. was the head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. He had also (unbeknownst to his father) been one of the most devoted of the fanatic faction of the Death Eaters. He was one of the few informants that Lucius had left in high places in the Ministry. Lucius was able to buy lots of low level informants, but most of the higher ups knew better than to deal with him. Barty Jr. escaped suspicion however, on account of his being the son of the Minister.

Moving to one side, Barty then began to speak very quietly. "There has been a sighting in Yugoslavia, near the border with Albania."

Lucius smiled. Barty Jr. believed that the Dark Lord had not been killed on Halloween of 1981. It was not a sentiment that Lucius shared, but continuing to support that belief in Barty had made him a valuable asset.

"I will look into it," said Lucius.

Barty nodded slightly, "This is not the same as the other times. The source is one of Karkaroff's men. He's reliable."

Lucius tried to hold in a scoff. Karkaroff had fled Britain the moment he'd heard of the Dark Lord's demise. No, he was not to be trusted. "Why hasn't Karkaroff investigated it then?"

"Because, he's on the run. He was fleeing Yugoslavia when his man came across this information," Crouch shook his head irritably, "Listen, I was there when Karkaroff left the country. He was loyal, but if he had stayed in Britain he'd have been caught. He went to try to salvage his network of recruiters. And if it wasn't for his advice I'd have gone with Bellatrix."

Lucius did scoff there. Bellatrix's attack on Frank and Alice Longbottom had done nothing except whip up anti-Death Eater sentiment and cause a number of high ranking Death Eaters to get caught.

"Do you know what this meeting is about?" asked Lucius.

"Do you think my father tells me such things?" countered Barty Jr.

"I was not at the Ministry yesterday," said Lucius, "I have not even heard rumors."

Barty nodded, a bit chastened. "All I know is that Dumbledore and Black visited him, and shortly afterwards he'd called for an emergency meeting. Also, Amelia Bones called everyone on the Potter duty in for questioning, except Runcorn, who was on duty at the time."

Lucius barely contained some rather pointed profanity. This was going to be very, very bad.

He walked back to Greengrass, "It's about Potter."

Greengrass shook his head pityingly. "Poor Sirius, smashing his head against this wall again."

Lucius shook his head, "No, he isn't. I think he has us."

Greengrass looked at Lucius disbelievingly, "Lucius, what have you done?"

"Nothing," said Lucius as he made his way to his seat, "I fear that is the problem."

XXXXX

"Odd," said Cornelius Fudge, "Barty Jr. is talking to Lucius again."

Sirius looked across the room to see that the Minister for Magic's son was indeed having a conversation with Lucius Malfoy.

"I suppose it isn't impossible that he has business with him," said Sirius, "Lucius has a lot of foreign connections."

"He has business with Lucius a lot I've heard," said Fudge, "And he is definitely more of a traditionalist than his father."

Sirius knew better than to dismiss Fudge's political observations out of hand. He was good at them. Once people had spoken of Fudge as possibly being the next Minister for Magic. But then in 1985 Crouch had made his power play and no one else had really had a chance. Fudge probably wouldn't have done well with power, but the years since had mellowed him a bit. He had developed an intense dislike of the pureblood faction once he realized they weren't going to support him (after it was clear he wouldn't be Minister for Magic). Still, he knew where all the bodies were buried.

For the last two years, Fudge had been one of Sirius's few open allies. Both of them had once been rising stars who had fallen. Sirius had been blindsided by Lucius of course, but Fudge had been unprepared for Crouch to spearhead a series of democratic reforms. While Millicent Bagnold had introduced those reforms, Crouch had championed them. And his brilliant compromise had ensured that the Wizengamot would accept them. Bagnold had tried to strip seats away from old families who had maintained effective control of those seats for centuries, while Crouch had pushed for simply adding elected seats to the existing house. The results had led Crouch to total victory in the subsequent election.

Crouch had faced numerous failures since then, of course. The man was an absolute black hole of charisma, which had led his popularity to decline. Furthermore, his seeming progressive streak had been largely a sham. He had reformed the Wizengamot because it hurt the ex-Death Eaters who had managed to buy their freedom, not because of any sense of democratic feeling on his part. He had done basically nothing for muggle or muggleborn rights. Still, he had just won re-election rather handily on another ostensibly security minded progressive platform.

"Do you know what this is about?" asked Fudge.

"Yes," said Sirius, "Harriet."

Fudge nodded. He'd supported Sirius during his last confrontation with Lucius of course, something which had surprised Sirius at the time, but no longer did. Fudge knew better than to trust Lucius. At one point Lucius had promised Fudge a substantial bribe (Fudge wasn't squeamish about calling it that anymore), but with Crouch's election had found the offer withdrawn exactly as some serious debts had come due. Fudge had only survived financially due to taking out some serious loans from Gringotts, loans which he was still making payments on. Not that Fudge had done poorly for himself since. He had risen to be the head of the Department of Magical Transportation. But there he would stay, barring some political catastrophe.

"Might your time in political exile be on the verge of ending?" asked Fudge curiously.

Sirius shrugged. "It is possible, I suppose," he said, "But that isn't my main concern at the moment."

"Of course," said Fudge genially, "Your goddaughter must be your priority. Still, If you want to make a comeback, well, I wouldn't be averse to helping you."

Sirius grinned as Barty Crouch entered the room. Things were about to begin. "I'll keep it in mind," he said.

XXXXX

Lucius and Bryant's conversation was interrupted by the arrival of Barty Crouch Sr.

"I call this emergency session of the Wizengamot to order," said Barty loudly. Barty was not known for his extensive preambles, or his patience. He liked to get right to things.

"The Wizengamot has before it today a serious matter that has been brought to the attention of one of our members, therefore I yield the floor to Griselda Marchbanks." said Albus Dumbledore, from the seat of the Chief Warlock.

That was bad, realized Lucius. Griselda was one of the oldest and most respected people in Magical Britain, much less the Wizengamot. Her word was virtually unimpeachable.

"Yesterday, I received word of a magical child who was being abused by her muggle family," began Griselda, "I subsequently contacted Minerva McGonagall and together we interviewed the child. And now I would present our findings."

Lucius swore under his breath. McGonagall was VERY bad. Experts had the right to submit memories of events that pertained to their area of expertise, then answer questions as to what it meant. While technically McGonagall was only officially responsible for the welfare of the children at Hogwarts, no one would have any objection as to her fitness as an expert witness in this case. The Wizengamot would likely soon be hearing Harriet's own words.

"A point if I may," said Augusta Longbottom suddenly. Augusta had quite pointedly voted against Sirius Black when Lucius had accused him of threatening Dursley. She was a bit of a stickler for protocol (in most cases) so her objection would surely be anticipated. Griselda was probably looking forward to this.

"Of course," said Griselda courteously.

"While this is indeed a serious problem, I don't fully understand why this is being discussed in an emergency session of the full Wizengamot. Surely the Department of Magical Law Enforcement can handle this?" said Augusta. Lucius had to hold back a grin. She was making this objection under the assumption that this topic would be used to make an assault upon muggle rights. And while Lucius could hope that would happen, that wasn't what Griselda was doing at all.

"Unfortunately, a previous order of this very body makes that difficult," said Griselda, her smile turning vicious, "You see, the abused child was HARRIET POTTER!"

Immediately the Wizengamot exploded. Everyone was talking at once, most were shouting, and it took almost five minutes for Crouch to restore order, with the help of Amelia Bones and Dumbledore. Augusta, and those of the progressive faction in the Wizengamot who had voted against Sirius Black on the basis of his having threatened a muggle were looking decidedly pale by the time order had been restored.

"I would remind everyone that the floor has not been opened to debate, and that Griselda Marchbanks still holds the floor," said Dumbledore once order had been restored.

"Thank you Chief Warlock," said Griselda, "As I am a member of the Wizengamot, I will have Minerva McGonagall give her expert testimony."

"If there are no objections?" asked Dumbledore, pausing slightly for an objection that was not forthcoming, "Then I recognize Minerva McGonagall as an expert on child welfare."

MInerva walked into the Wizengamot chamber and sat in the witness chair. "I would like to submit a memory of my interview with Harriet Potter," she said formally.

There could be no objection to this, Minerva had already been ruled an expert. Several magical interns brought in a memory projector. It was a modified Pensieve that projected a memory up, instead of drawing the viewer down. When Barty had been reforming the evidence standards he'd asked the Department of Mysteries if they could build something like this. They had supplied one suspiciously quickly.

"This memory has been split into two sections," said Minerva as she handed a vial over to the sergeant-at-arms, "This was to remove a section of the memory where Miss Potter showed us her injuries, in order to protect her modesty. While Miss Potter wanted her injuries to be shown to as many people as possible, as she is a minor I feel that I have a greater duty to protect her from undue harm. I swear that this memory has not been modified in any other way."

The sergeant-at-arms placed the memory in the bowl of the projector. A hazy mist flowed out of the bowl, showing McGonagall, Marchbanks, a young girl who was clearly Potter, as well as another young girl and another man and a woman who were dressed as muggles.

"If the three of you would please leave us…" started Marchbanks.

"Hermione can stay," said Potter, "I think I'd be more comfortable with her here."

"Harriet…" started McGonagall but Marchbanks raised her hand in a stopping motion.

"If that makes you feel better of course she can stay," said Marchbanks. The two older muggles left.

"Harriet, I am going to ask you some questions. You have said your uncle is abusing you, can you tell us about it?" asked McGonagall.

Harriet nodded and went into a long description of how her uncle had begun beating her.

As the description went on Lucius began to panic. This was far worse than anything Runcorn had reported to him! He'd thought Dursley had just cuffed her around a bit, but this wasn't even the first time Harriet had been seriously injured! He'd broken arms and a leg even! The last beating he'd gone after her with a heavy stick!

Lucius didn't really consider himself to have scruples, but he found himself getting angry. Yes this was his fault to some degree, but he couldn't believe the casual brutality this man had unleashed on a child. Lucius was willing to kill Harriet, but he didn't want to torture her, or make her suffer. And the rage that filled him at the treatment of a magical child, by a muggle no less, began to mount.

There was, as McGonagall had promised, a brief break in the presentation, but when it returned Potter was talking about her larger family life, defending her aunt and cousin, and explaining how they had been boxed in by the DMLE. And she mentioned Runcorn by name! That was useful for Lucius, as it made it easier for him to dump the blame. But then they came to the end.

"Is there anything else you'd like to tell us Harriet?" asked McGonagall

Harriet looked up suddenly. She'd spent most of the session looking at the floor. After a few moments the other girl, Hermione had taken Harriet's right hand and had put her left arm around Harriet's shoulders lightly.

"Tell them," the brown-haired girl said.

"Please tell my godfather Sirius Black what is happening," she said, "He always looked out for me before! He always defended me when my uncle put me down. I know he'd never willingly abandon me here!"

Lucius felt crushed. No matter what he told himself, this was his fault. And he didn't know what to do.

XXXXX

Sirius watched the faces of those who had voted to strip him of his guardianship of Harry. Augusta looked sick, as well she should! She might have thought she was protecting Harriet, but she should have known better. Bryant Greengrass had a stoic impassive stare, except when he looked at Lucius. Then he looked positively murderous. Lucius himself seemed to be getting enraged. Was he just mad his plot had fallen apart? Or had he honestly not known how bad things had been?

"Who were the other three people?" asked Crouch. Dumbledore had just opened up the floor for questions.

"Helen and Robert Granger were the adults," said Minerva McGonagall, "They are muggles. It was they who reported this matter to Griselda. The girl was their daughter Hermione. She is a witch, who turns eleven in September. Normally they would not have been introduced to the magical world until then, but they discovered the existence of the magical world in 1981, when Robert Granger helped Sirius Black and Remus Lupin after the attack on the Potters."

"They weren't obliviated?" objected Bryant Greengrass.

"There is no law that muggles who have discovered the magical world MUST be obliviated," said Sirius, the first time he had spoken in the Wizengamot for almost two years, "That they were the parents of a witch made it even less necessary. So long as those who discover the magical world agree to keep quiet, it is perfectly permissible to allow them to keep their memories. And I for one am glad that Harriet had someone to turn to in her time of need."

"What about the other woman, the one who helped defend her against Runcorn?" asked Theodore Nott Sr, whom Sirius had long suspected of being a Death Eater.

"Miss Potter knew nothing more about her," said McGonagall.

"Is it so hard to believe that a foreigner would take the side of one of the most famous magical people in the British Isles?" said Dumbledore, "Especially given that Harriet is a child?"

After a few more questions, Dumbledore dismissed McGonagall and opened the floor to motions.

Lucius staggered to his feet. Greengrass glared at him as he did so, but he said nothing.

"My fellow elders of the Wizengamot," began Lucius, his voice thick with emotion, "I find that I must apologize to you. Two years ago I was taken in by a scoundrel who had no good intentions on his mind, and I am sorry for having championed Vernon Dursley's cause."

That was a lie, of course. Sirius now knew for a fact that Lucius had contacted Dursley somehow. Probably got her location from Runcorn in the DMLE, now that Sirius was thinking about it. Dursley had intentionally goaded Sirius into threatening him, on Lucius' advice.

Lucius's face contorted in a snarl, "Indeed he all along had sought to find a way to torment a young witch for that which is no crime at all. For being magical! For centuries the muggles hunted us down, persecuted us because of their jealousy, and sought to keep us from exercising our natural right, our magic. Vernon Dursley is just another link in the chain of muggle monstrosity. I made the mistake of trusting one of those barbarians. I will not do so again!"

Sirius leapt to his feet, "Let's not forget that the people who reported this to our attention were muggles!" he shouted, "When Petunia Dursley tried to report Vernon's abuse it wasn't muggles who wiped the information from the minds and papers of the police. It wasn't muggles who prevented Harriet from contacting anyone who could help her. IT WAS MAGICALS! The blame lies on us! Yes, Vernon was a brute, but there are brutes among us all! When James and Lily Potter died, Robert Granger ran to their aid, and despite the danger to himself, which was considerable, he helped us recover Harriet. He tried to help James and Lily, even though it was too late. And again, he has helped us by reporting a crime that our own policemen were covering up!"

Sirius's voice was booming and everyone in the chambers was staring at him. But he had to go on. "This isn't about muggle or magical, pureblood or muggleborn. This is about common _human_ decency. And now I ask, what are we going to do about it!"

Sirius happened to look to his side and he saw Fudge give him a triumphant grim. Lucius seemed to want to make a rebuttal, then seemed to lose all strength and collapsed in his seat. Lucius was finished in the Wizengamot, at least for the immediate future. The other pureblood bigots were glaring at him.

Bryant Greengrass stood. "I move that we vacate the previous finding of the Wizengamot, and restore full guardianship of Harriet Potter to Sirius Black. I furthermore move that we direct the Department of Magical Law Enforcement aid Warlock Black in rescuing his goddaughter."

"I second the motion," said Augusta Longbottom.

"I would have a show of wands for," said Dumbledore.

Sirius lifted up his wand and cast the lumos charm. As did virtually the entire Wizengamot.

"Against?" said Dumbledore. Not a single wand was raised.

"The motion carries," said Dumbledore.

"If there is no other business," said Crouch, who then waited a moment before continuing, "Then I hold this emergency session of the Wizengamot dismissed."

There was a huge hubbub of activity as Sirius made his way toward the door. He had been surprised at Bryant making the motion to restore his guardianship, but then he remembered that he had two young daughters. As he reached the door, Amelia Bones grabbed his arm.

"Give me ten minutes Sirius, and we'll have a full team of aurors and DMLE investigators to accompany you," she said, "And I am so sorry. If I had been paying attention…"

"The Wizengamot never should have put you in that position," said Sirius, "Just… make sure you pin whoever covered this up to the wall."

Amelia nodded grimly. "That much I can promise you."

XXXXX

Harriet spent most of the day in suspense. Vernon had called off from work that day, which was a bit alarming. But Harriet quickly realized that he had done so not because he suspected something was up, but because he was starting to feel challenged at home. He felt the need to assert his authority again. Little did he know that she wasn't just going to take it lying down anymore.

While Harriet was making lunch Vernon stormed into the kitchen, "Why didn't you weed the flower bed yesterday?" he demanded.

"Oh Vernon," said Petunia quickly, "I didn't tell her to weed yesterday."

"That is no excuse, she should see the weeds and do it herself!" said Vernon, getting angry.

"I might have gone and looked to see if it needed weeding if someone hadn't broken my ribs," said Harriet as she reached into her pocket and closed her hand over her runestone. She had an idea.

"How dare you talk to me like that!" said Vernon in a fury.

"Get used to it," said Harriet, "I'm done cowering to the likes of you!"

"Harriet!" shouted Petunia fearfully.

"I'll give you something to cower about!" roared Vernon as her charged at Harriet.

He swung a massive punch towards her, but she dodged underneath it. As she dodged she pulled as much magic as she could though her runestone. Then in one swift move she threw an uppercut exactly as she released her magic. The punch threw Vernon back into the hallway where he fell against the wall.

Dudley had run in from the living room. "What was that?" he asked

Harriet opened her fist showing her runestone. "It's a runestone. I'm using it as a spell focus. I don't know any spells though so I'm kind of winging it."

Vernon scrambled to his feet. "That was the last mistake you'll ever make!" he said. There was a crazed look in his eyes. Harriet snorted and held her runestone up as she gathered more magic.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door.

Vernon seemed to return to reality a bit. He looked at the door with uncertainty.

"You best get it, before they break it down," said Harriet smugly.

Vernon walked over to the door. He turned the knob and opened the door.

Only to come face to face with Sirius Black.

"Oh boll…"

Vernon didn't have time to finish before Sirius said "_Depulso._"

Vernon was hurled back into the wall he had just slammed into.

"_Incarcerous,_" said Sirius as he walked past Vernon. Ropes immediately appeared and bound Vernon.

"Sirius!" yelled Harriet as she ran forward to greet him. Sirius scooped her up in a giant hug. She didn't even mind the pain from her ribs as she threw her arms around Sirius's neck. "I knew you'd come back!"

"Sorry it took me so long Harry," said Sirius casually, "Though I've heard you had something to do with putting all this in motion." He set her down gently, finally seeming to remember she was injured.

A number of Aurors and other DMLE personnel had entered the house after Sirius and were looking around for evidence of any crimes. Petunia and Dudley both looked quite shaken by what had just happened, and overwhelmed by this new influx of strange people.

"Look what I made!" said Harriet, showing Sirius her runestone.

"That was very ingenious," said Sirius, though there was a fire in his eyes as he said it.

"Is something wrong?" asked Harriet.

"I'm just angry at what you went through, that's all," said Sirius.

A man in Healer's robes walked in. "If you would be so kind Mr. Black, I would like to examine Harriet."

Black nodded his assent.

The Healer cast a spell on Harriet. An outline of her body hovered in front of her, and there were all sorts of different colours and shapes within that outline. It was gibberish to Harriet.

"Mr. Black, we need to take Harriet to St. Mungos immediately. She has several serious injuries, including broken ribs and some improperly healed breaks in her arms."

"You okay going with the Healers without me Harriet?" asked Sirius.

"Of course I am, I'm not a child," said Harriet calmly.

"Is that so?" said Sirius with a smile.

Harriet stuck out her tongue at him, then she walked over to the Healer. She waved a quick goodbye at Dudley and Petunia, then took the Healer's hand and was whisked away as he apparrated.

XXXXX

Robert Granger pulled up to #4 Privet Drive only to see the front lawn covered in what looked like police. He got out of his car and walked up to a woman who looked like a constable.

"Please step away sir. This is a crime scene," she said.

"I know," he said, "I have a letter from Sirius Black, he said I should come here immediately." What Robert wasn't saying was that the letter had been delivered by an owl, in the middle of the day, to his dental practice.

The woman's eyes widened. "Granger?" she asked. Robert nodded. The woman let him in, then directed him towards the backyard.

Making his way out back, he saw Sirius talking with a woman wearing a monocle. "So, Runcorn talked?" he was asking.

"Under Veritaserum. Not only did he talk, but he actually brought up that he was an ex-Death Eater. He'd also been bribing and threatening the other people watching Harriet" said the monocled woman.

Death Eaters had been the followers of that dark wizard Voldemort, Granger remembered.

"So it wasn't Lucius," said an obviously disappointed Sirius.

"Lucius knew Vernon was abusive, but he didn't know the full extent of it apparently," said the woman angrily, "He was also paying Runcorn, but that part of some old family agreement. The money predated Runcorn working with Potter. The whole thing is reprehensible, but not illegal. If Harriet was attending Hogwarts we could have used this to get him off the Board of Governors. As it is, we'll just have to accept the complete destruction of his reputation."

"Still, you need to do a better job vetting your hitwizards," said Sirius as he turned towards Robert.

"Robert!" said Sirius as he noticed Robert, "This is Amelia Bones, the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. Amelia, this is Robert Granger."

Robert extended his hand, and received a quite firm handshake in return.

"Thank you for all of you assistance Robert," said Amelia, "It may not be too much to say that you helped save a young girl's life today. Now if you'll excuse me, I have work to do."

"This wouldn't be the first time I've helped young Harriet," said Robert with a smile.

"Well, I wanted to thank you as well," said Sirius. "In fact, I'm hoping to do so with actions. I would like to introduce your family formally to the magical world. Harriet and I would like to give you all a tour of Diagon Alley, London's magical district. Well, I'm sure Harriet will once she hears about it."

"I'd be honored," said Robert, genuinely touched.

"Good, I'll contact you tomorrow about the details. Now I have to see if Petunia has calmed down enough to talk to. Once I've finished with her I'll be heading to St. Mungos, that would be the magical hospital. They're treating Harriet there for her injuries."

"Tomorrow then," said Robert. Sirius seemed more, well, serious than he had before. Maybe it had just been the gravity of the situation. Or maybe Sirius had grown up a bit in the last few years. Whatever the case, Robert was beginning to suspect that his life, and that of his daughter, had just grown a lot more interesting.

**Author's Note: **I know this start is a little confusing because I start _in_ _medias res._ But the sequence of events is this: Lucius contacts Vernon (probably supplied his location by Runcorn) and offers to help him get rid of Sirius Black, whom Vernon hates. Vernon says some horrible things about Harriet which causes Sirius to threaten to kill Vernon. Lucius then went to the Wizengamot and had Sirius' guardianship of Harriet revoked. Because Sirius had previously asked Petunia to help care for Harriet and he registered her as a co-guardian, this made Petunia Harriet's sole guardian. Lucius also managed to get an order that prevented _any_ magicals other than the DMLE from contacting Harriet until she turned 11.

Vernon starts abusing Harriet, and Runcorn tries to cover it up, because he's a former Death Eater who hates her, and he can't do it himself as long as she lives at the Dursleys. Runcorn bribed or threatened all the other people assigned to watch Harriet. Lucius finds out that this is happening, but does nothing to stop it and decides that if Vernon hasn't killed Harriet by the time she turns 11, he will just Imperius Vernon and make him do it.

Griselda and McGonagall don't know who at the DMLE is compromised though. For all they know there is a big conspiracy, and if they use any magic around Harriet and set off the Trace a dozen ex-Death Eaters will jump in and obliviate them. So they leave, not using any magic, and immediately go to contact the Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and Harriet's rightful guardian. Also Dumbledore can't simply sweep in and grab Harriet because he doesn't have any right to do so. The only thing he is responsible for is creating the blood wards at Privet Drive. Barty Crouch is still Barty Crouch, he isn't going to ignore any crimes Dumbledore commits just because he was doing the right thing.


	4. Harriet's Magical Life

**Chapter 4: Harriet's Magical Life**

"Harriet? Harriet?" said a vaguely familiar voice.

Harriet's eyes popped open. She'd fallen asleep waiting for a Healer to see her. The healer who had brought her here had done a brief examination, then he had left to find a child specialist. Made sense, but she hadn't been exactly thrilled at the wait. But now that she saw who had been brought in, she was less upset.

"Andromeda!" she said happily, "It's so good to see you!"

Andromeda Tonks smiled back at her. Andromeda was Sirius' cousin, the only member of his family that he was still on good terms with. Sirius still occasionally talked with Narcissa, but it was a rather tense relationship, as Narcissa had married Lucius Malfoy. Andromeda had married a muggleborn named Ted Tonks. Harriet had met both Andromeda and Ted several times before, and liked them both.

"Likewise," said Andromeda, "Still let's take a look at you." Andromeda cast a number of spells and an outline of Harriet's body appeared next to her. Colours appeared and disappeared in the outline, showing various things that Harriet absolutely did not understand.

Finally, Andromeda grunted, "All in all, that isn't too bad, all things considered. I was afraid we'd have to regrow bones, but it looks like you were lucky. The ribs I can heal as good as new and the leg fracture healed properly. You had two breaks in your arm that didn't heal properly though. One I can fix via spell, the other hasn't actually affected your growth. You'll have a bit of a bump on your arm bone for the rest of your life, but it otherwise won't affect anything."

Andromeda cast several spells at Harriets chest. She felt brief twinges of pain as her bones knit back together.

"The arm is going to hurt a bit, I'll have to re-break it," said Andromeda.

Harriet shrugged. "I'm sure I've felt worse."

Andromeda nodded, though she frowned as she did. With a wave of her wand she cast another spell at Harriet's arm. Pain shot through her limb, though as Harriet predicted, it wasn't anything she couldn't handle. Andromeda cast another spell quickly, and the limb was healed. The pain slowly subsided as the nerves in her arm realized everything was back to normal.

"I'm going to put you on a weekly regimen of growth enhancement potions for the next three months," said Andromeda, "They'll be weak potions, mostly to facilitate recovery from your injuries. There are minor signs of long term soft tissue damage in areas, so this should accelerate your healing process."

"Are you putting me on any restrictions?" asked Harriet.

"I'd rest today and tomorrow." said Andromeda, "that's common after any magical healing is done. Other than that, no. You are in surprisingly good health for what you have been through."

Harriet understood. If things had gone on as they had been for much longer she doubted that would have been the case.

"Sirius will be by in an hour or so. He said he had a couple stops to make before he picks you up," said Andromeda, "If you'll follow me I'll get you a bed to rest in till then."

Harriet nodded. She was still a bit tired.

XXXXX

Harriet woke again what seemed like moments after she had fallen asleep. But the clock on the wall said it had been two hours. Sirius was sitting by her bed.

"Feeling better Harry?" he asked.

"Yes, but I'm tired," said Harriet.

"I'm not surprised, bone knitting takes a lot out of a patient," said Sirius.

"So what's happening to me?" asked Harriet.

"Well, I talked things over with your aunt," said Sirius, "I felt, and she agreed, that it might be a good idea to get you away from Little Whinging for a bit."

"I couldn't agree more," said Harriet.

"So unless you object, I was thinking of having you stay with me at 12 Grimmauld Place..." started Sirius, but before he could finish Harriet had thrown her arms around his neck.

"Yes!" she said fervently.

"There are reasons to eventually have you return to Privet Drive," said Sirius, "But we'll get to that when the time comes. And no matter what happens, I won't force you to return there."

Harriet wasn't sure about how she felt about going back to the scene of her abuse, but she realized that Sirius wasn't joking about giving her the choice. "I'll have to think about it," she said without enthusiasm.

"But not today!" said Sirius, "you've been released, so come on now!"

Harriet began to follow Sirius out of the hospital. "So what took you so long?" she asked.

"Oh a couple matters," said Sirius, "Amelia Bones briefed me on the case against Runcorn, who _is_ going down, I might add. I also had a quick chat with Barty Crouch. I've got a meeting with him on Tuesday to discuss an educational reform bill I've wanted to work on.

Harriet wrinkled her nose, "Politics," she said dismissively.

"Now, now, I'm doing this for _your _benefit," said Sirius. The reached the entrance to the hospital, where there were a number of fireplaces. Sirius motioned to Harriet.

She grabbed a handful of floo powder from a jar on the mantle of the fireplace. She threw the powder in the fire shouting "12 Grimmauld place!" and stepped into the fire. She found herself suddenly dragged into a raging torrent which seemed to buffet her in every direction at once. But Harriet calmed her mind with her breathing exercise and she almost immediately felt the current lessen. She popped out in #12, landing on her feet.

She stepped to one side, and a few moments later Sirius walked out of the fireplace.

"I was hoping to find you flat on your backside again," said Sirius. "You never were a good floo traveler."

"My confidence level went up a bit I think," said Harriet, "plus after dealing with Uncle Vernon, not a lot scares me."

"Mistress Harry!" shouted Kreacher who rushed in excitedly. Harriet waved back at the house elf. Harriet and Kreacher got along well. Harriet had taken one look at the way Sirius had treated Kreacher when she first met him and had excoriated him. The elf had been amazingly depressed after the death of Walburga Black. She'd pushed Sirius to help Kreacher find ways to make #12 a more attractive home, without completely alienating Kreacher. They'd moved a lot of the Black family artifacts to a spare upstairs sitting room, which Kreacher used as a sort of shrine to the Black family. The results had been spectacular. Kreacher still seemed to dislike Sirius, but had come to accept Harriet and Remus, who'd supported Harriet every step of the way, as if they were also Kreacher's masters.

Harriet did notice the house looked a bit more run down than it had the last time she'd been here. Sirius probably hadn't been entertaining much since Harriet had been exiled to Privet Drive. Obviously that would have to change. Sirius had tried to hide it from her, but he'd had a constant stream of women as 'guests' back in the old days, and Harriet was left to wonder whether he'd asked any women over since he'd lost custody of her.

But that could wait! Harriet laughed as Remus Lupin walked in. She ran up to him and hugged him around the middle. "Good to see you Remus!" she said.

"Same to you Harry," said Remus.

"So what are you doing, hanging around this dump?" Harriet asked.

"Sirius asked me to pick some clothes up for you, said you might need a few things for your stay here."

Harriet nodded. She hadn't received any new clothes for a couple of years, having been forced to wear Dudley's hand-me-downs. Which was particularly galling as she was a girl, and those clothes were WAY too big for her. "You had my sizes?" she asked.

"We have magic Harry," Sirius reminded her, "We just got close and we can shrink or expand them as needed."

Harriet nodded in acknowledgement.

"Now let's find a room for you!" said Sirius. He led Harriet up to the second floor. She noticed he had somehow removed the painting of his mother that had been at the top of the stairs. He led her to a room she remembered being told was Sirius' room as a child. Everything inside the room was red and gold. _Gryffindor colors, _thought Harriet. There were also posters of somewhat scantily clad biker and bikini girls on the walls.

Harriet gave Sirius a side-eyed glare. "Really?"

"I'm, uh, trying to figure out how to get them down," said Sirius defensively.

"And till then they're just a monument to pervy teenage Sirius?" asked Harriet. She was joking, but his defensiveness was pretty hilarious.

"Well my parents didn't approve of them, so I had to get pretty inventive with the magic to put them up there," said Sirius.

"I wonder why they didn't approve," said Harriet dryly.

"Well, half-naked women aside, their main concern was that they were muggles." said Sirius.

"So what you're saying is that by displaying these scantily clad women on the walls of your bedroom, you were protesting against pureblood bigotry?" asked Harriet, a bit disbelievingly.

"Exactly!" said Sirius.

Harriet sighed. "I suppose I can get something to cover them up."

Sirius nodded. "Yeah, they're probably not coming down anytime soon," he admitted, "Maybe we can get some Quidditch posters."

Harriet thought that sounded like a good idea, but before she could say so, she suddenly felt very tired. "You know what, I think it's time for me to get some rest," she said sleepily.

"Well you need your rest, so I'll leave you to it," said Sirius. Remus, who had been standing by the door watching all this in amusement, inclined his head slightly, almost like a bow, then left with Sirius on his heels.

Harriet looked at the clothes Remus had bought her. They all seemed to kind of go together, jeans and shirts and all sorts of things. He hadn't bought her any underwear she noticed, which would be more than an annoyance before too much longer. She'd have to get some soon. She had a few especially large shirts they'd gotten for her to wear to sleep as opposed to a nightgown or pajamas. She made a note to herself that she would never let either Remus or Sirius choose what clothes to buy her again. They clearly had no idea how to shop for a 10 year old girl, even one with as tomboyish as Harriet.

Changing into one of the sleep shirts, she climbed into bed. Which is when she realized that Sirius had put a poster of a scantily dressed (and well endowed) woman on the ceiling. _Okay, that's a bit much_, she thought to herself. But she couldn't summon any outrage. In putting her in this room, Sirius was trying to connect Harriet to his past. It was a little bit touching, even if it was also a bit misguided.

Harriet fell asleep with a ghost of a smile showing on her face.

XXXXX

When Harriet woke up, it was light outside. But a quick look showed it was late morning rather than the afternoon. She'd slept at least 16 or 17 hours. She supposed she'd needed it. What she needed now, however, was a pee. Scrambling to her feet she ran downstairs into the only bathroom she knew about on the first floor.

Once she'd finished in the bathroom she began looking for Sirius. She found him in a study on the first floor. "Harriet!" he said as she walked in, "In the land of the living?"

Harriet nodded. "I'm actually a bit hungry." she said.

Sirius nodded, "Why don't you go get dressed? I think we'll get some lunch, if you're up to lunch that is."

Harriet shrugged. "I'm just hungry,"

Harriet changed into a shirt and jeans, then put on socks and shoes. Walking downstairs, she saw Sirius dressed in a sweater and slacks. "We need to stop by a clothing store, Remus wasn't brave enough to buy me underwear yesterday," said Harriet.

Sirius laughed heartily. "Glad it was him instead of me!" he said exuberantly.

The two of them ate at a local sandwich shop, then went shopping for clothes. Harriet didn't need a lot of things, so it didn't take very long. Soon they were back at 12 Grimmauld Place.

Harriet sat down in the dining room afterwards. "So what do we have planned for the rest of the day?" she asked.

"You'll rest for the rest of the day, that's what!" said Sirius. "I have a big day planned for us tomorrow."

"Oh?" asked Harriet.

"I invited the Grangers to tour Diagon Alley with us. I figured I'd give them a proper welcome to the magical world," said Sirius.

"Sounds like fun to me," said Harriet.

"Did you get along with their daughter Hermione? She's a bit older than you I know…"

"Not that much older," said Harriet. "We'll be in the same class at Hogwarts. She was nice, but I get the feeling she wasn't really used to having friends. She was a bit bossy. I think she just needs to spend some time around people her own age."

"Like you?" asked Sirius.

"Sure," said Harriet, not really committing one way or the other. She hoped that the girl might make a decent friend, but Harriet had to admit she didn't really know her all that well.

"There is one other thing we have to talk about though," said Sirius, "Your runestone,"

"You're not going to take it away, are you?" said Harriet defensively.

"No I won't," said Sirius, "As long as you don't use it anymore. It's a spell focus, which puts it in the same class of magical item as a wand. Which means technically you aren't supposed to have one. Now I don't care about that, but the Improper Use of Magic Office does. And your runestone has a rather unique signature, so if you use it, they'll know."

"Oh," said Harriet, who was slightly deflated by this news.

"I'm trying to do something about amending the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery to make it less, well restrictive, but I can't guarantee anything on that front, and it won't apply to you until you buy your wand anyway," said Sirius.

Harriet nodded, a bit sullenly.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Now let me show you the Black family library."

Harriet's eyes shone. "Really?"

"Yes, I managed to sort through all the books. So now the dangerous books are separate!" said Sirius, who then gave Harriet a solemn frown, "You will leave those books alone Harriet."

"Of course," lied Harriet without hesitation.

"Thatta girl," said Sirius. Harriet honestly wasn't sure if he was praising her for agreeing with him, or if he knew and was praising her for lying so well. Didn't matter. And it wasn't like she was going to disobey him immediately. Only if she needed to.

XXXXX

The next day, Harriet and Sirius had decided to take muggle transportation to Diagon. Sirius loved riding the bus. Harriet actually thought he loved it a little too much. His obvious enjoyment had a tendency to draw stares. She was pretty sure that some of them thought he was 'special.'

When they arrived at the Leaky Cauldron, they saw the Grangers had already arrived. And they were arguing.

"It's right there!" said Hermione excitedly.

"Hermione, there is nothing here, we must have taken a wrong turn," said Helen Granger.

"This should be the address," said Robert.

"And so it is!" said Sirius with his usual flair.

"Though you should probably not draw so much attention," said Harriet, "We didn't hide the Leaky Cauldron from casual passers-by just to have one of us loudly pointing it out."

The Grangers stared at Harriet. She looked next to nothing like she had when she had met them last. Her hair, naturally black, had been dyed to a very light brown. She was also wearing a headband across her forehead, which covered her scar.

"You look very different," noted Hermione.

Harriet gave Hermione a half-grin. "Trust me, we don't want me being recognized. If anyone asks, I'm your sister."

"You want me to lie?" asked Hermione.

"You should grab Hermione's hands," suggested Sirius in part to forestall any more discussion along this path, "Most muggles can't see the Leaky Cauldron."

Helen and Robert each took one of Hermione's hands. Their eyes went wide as the Leaky Cauldron appeared before them.

"What type of spell is that?" asked Robert.

"It's a weak Muggle Repelling Charm," said Sirius, "It doesn't actually repel muggles, but it does render the Leaky Cauldron invisible to most muggles. The rest it encourages not to notice it. Those who do notice it just see a run down old shop."

"Why can some see it and not others?" asked Hermione.

"Well, muggles are people that don't have the ability to use magical abilities," said Sirius, "but that doesn't mean that they are completely unmagical. Most non-magicals are about 10-20% attuned to magic, by a measurement we call magical capacity. But some muggles are actually what we in the magical world would consider squibs, or 20-30% attuned to magic. They can't use magic, but they are attuned enough that they can see things that only magical people can see. Within the magical world a squib usually refers to a child of magical parents who can't use magic, but properly the term applies to anyone in this range."

"So you can measure the power of individual wizards?" asked Robert.

"Sort of," said Sirius, "It isn't really that straightforward. More than your magical capacity feeds into how powerful any given spell is, or how many spells you can cast before you get exhausted."

Harriet made an annoyed sigh. "Why don't we have this conversation inside?"

Sirius' eyes twinkled. "Are you taking charge already?"

"Someone with a bit of maturity has to!" said Harriet with wink.

"That definitely leaves me out," Sirius agreed as he led the way inside.

The Grangers were clearly not impressed by their first sight of the inside of the Leaky Cauldron. It was rather grubby and rundown, Harriet had to admit.

"We keep things low-key in the Leaky Cauldron, just in case a muggle does wander in here for some reason," explained Harriet. "The real action is out back."

Sirius led them to the back room, where he touched a few bricks in the back wall, causing the portal to Diagon Alley to open.

"Well I'll be…" started Robert.

"Dear," chided Helen before he could finish, but then saw inside herself. "Oh, wow."

Harriet had to admit, Diagon made an impression on people.

XXXXX

The first place Sirius had to take them was Gringotts, to have them change money. Harriet had never understood why most magical shops wouldn't take muggle money, but she suspected that the goblins had something to so with it.

Hermione had been asking Sirius a barrage of questions ever since they had entered the alley. Her parents had tried to stop her, but Sirius has just laughed off their concerns. "She's ten years behind on learning this stuff after all!" he said. Yet Harriet noted that a lot of Hermione's questions were rather pointed. She almost immediately picked up on the fact that there were no sentient magical creatures in Diagon Alley. And when asking about wizard currency, Hermione also asked about why muggle money wasn't accepted at most stores.

When they reached Gringotts, the Grangers got their first look at goblins. Helen and Robert were practically agog at the sight, but Harriet managed to get next to Hermione. "Don't stare,' she said quietly.

Hermione immediately looked away from the goblin guard, who was wearing what was a rather antique uniform even for the magical world. If wizards tended towards being old-fashioned, goblins tended towards being positively medieval. Except when it came to business, of course.

Hermione and her parents changed out their money. Harriet made a quick inquiry with one of the goblin bankers about having her financial information sent to Grimmauld Place. She was, as she always was with the goblins, polite and respectful. As a result, she noticed she received excellent service. Sirius wasn't arrogant or rude to the goblins, but he did have a tendency to act as if they weren't there sometimes. And the service the goblins gave him was considerably worse than what was given Harriet. Right now in fact he was standing squarely in the way of a goblin hauling a cart. Upon noticing he was in the way, Sirius said, "Sorry little fellow," and stepped out of the way.

Harriet watched as the teller who was helping her narrowed his eyes. "I apologize for my godfather's behavior," she said quickly, "It isn't his fault that he was raised by purebloods."

The teller gave Harriet a vicious grin. "I suppose not Miss Potter," he said.

After getting confirmation that her address was indeed changed, Harriet walked over to the Grangers, who had finished changing their money. Sirius arrived a moment later.

"I had to apologize to the goblins for you again," said Harriet, "Little fellow?"

"Okay, I'll admit, that was insensitive," said Sirius, "but I maintain... Oh bloody hell!"

Harriet turned to see what he was looking at. A blond haired man and woman had just entered the bank. Harriet had never met them, but she instantly knew who they were.

"The Malfoys," she said just loud enough that the Grangers could hear.

"Maybe they won't see us…" said Sirius, but at that moment Lucius saw him, and began to walk over, his wife close behind.

"Sirius," said Lucius, very neutrally.

"Lucius," replied Sirius formally. He then turned, and with at least a little warmth said, "Narcissa."

Narcissa Malfoy nodded at Sirius. Harriet knew they didn't really like each other, but they were still family.

"Giving a tour to the rabble Sirius?" said Lucius with a sneer.

"Give these heroes their due credit Lucius!" said Sirius dramatically, "These are the Grangers, you know, the muggles that rescued my goddaughter."

Lucius' eyes started to burn. "Indeed," he said, "I didn't know they had two daughters."

Harriet smiled. "Don't you recognize me Lucius?" she said as she tapped her forehead with her finger. Lucius's face suddenly got far less certain.

"I am of course very happy you were freed from that monster Dursley…" started Lucius.

"If only you hadn't trapped me with him to begin with," said Harriet cuttingly.

"Excuse me," said Lucius anxiously, "I have business to attend to." With that he headed towards one of the personal bankers.

Narcissa had stayed behind. "I need a word Sirius," she said quietly.

Sirius nodded. "Of course," he said before turning to Harriet and the Grangers, "this will only take a moment." Sirius and Narcissa walked a distance away, and then put their heads together to have a whispered conversation.

"I wonder what that's about?" pondered Robert.

"You do? I have some ideas," said Helen.

Harriet's mouth dropped as she realized what Helen had guessed.

Hermione was even less subtle. "You don't think they're having…" Hermione suddenly dropped her voice to a near whisper, "An affair?"

Harriet couldn't help it anymore. She burst out laughing. "Oh that's disgusting," she said once the initial fit of laughter had died down.

"I take it then that an affair between the two of them is not likely?" asked Robert.

"They're cousins," replied Harriet, "First cousins. My guess is that this is about Regulus."

"Regulus?" asked Helen.

"Regulus Black is or more likely was Sirius' younger brother," said Harriet, "He just disappeared near the end of the war. No one knows what happened to him. Sirius, Narcissa, and Narcissa's sister Andromeda have been trying to find out what happened to him ever since."

"But why the secrecy?" asked Hermione.

Harriet noted that once again Hermione had asked the most important question. She had a knack for it.

"Regulus was a Death Eater, a follower of Lord Voldemort," Harriet replied, "Narcissa doesn't want to get in trouble for talking about Death Eater business publically. She wasn't a Death Eater herself, but Lucius on the other hand…"

"Hmm…" said Robert a concerned expression on his face.

Harriet was about to say something, when she saw Her walking out the door of the bank. The woman who had rescued her. She was wearing witches robes and a pointed hat. "I'll be right back!" Harriet said as she ran out the door. Exiting the bank she saw the woman turn into Knockturn Alley. Harriet knew she wasn't supposed to go into Knockturn Alley, but a little thing like it being forbidden wasn't about to stop her. She ran down the Alley a short ways. But the woman was gone.

Harriet sighed in frustration. Suddenly a voice came from behind her. "Hello there, Harriet," it said.

She turned to see the woman she had been chasing tucked away in a corner of the Alley.

"I wanted to thank you for all your help," said Harriet.

"I did very little," said the woman, "but you are welcome nonetheless." She looked around nervously.

"Are you hiding from someone?" asked Harriet.

"Hiding may be too strong of a word," said the woman, "I was observing Lucius. He's been acting oddly."

Suddenly Sirius came running down Knockturn Alley, "Harriet, what is going on?" he demanded.

Harriet gestured to the strange witch. "This is the woman who helped me escape Runcorn."

Sirius seemed a bit taken aback. "Well, I guess than I owe you a thank you, Ms ...?

The woman waved him off. "As I said, I did very little. And my name is Morgan. Morgan Solaire."

"From Switzerland, unless I am misreading your accent?" asked Sirius.

"You are not," said Morgan.

"What were you saying about Malfoy?" asked Harriet.

"I do not wish to alarm you, but have you given any thought to how Lucius thought to get away with what was done to you?" asked Morgan.

Sirius was startled at the implications of that, but Harriet wasn't. "I have," she said, "I assumed he'd either wipe my memory or try to kill me."

"Neither may have been within his power so long as you were living at the Dursleys," said Morgan, "Yet the easiest way would also have been the best for his anti- muggle views. I think he meant to have Runcorn use the Imperius Curse on your uncle, and have him do the deed."

Sirius scowled. "That absolute _bastard_."

"Perhaps not," said Morgan. "I have been watching him ever since the Wizengamot meeting. He seems genuinely upset by what happened to Harriet. Absent the return of Voldemort, I don't think he's a real threat, at least not physically. I doubt Lucius would have gone through with it"

"I'm not so sure," said Harriet.

"You use You-Know-Who's name?" asked Sirius, "Why are you doing all this?"

"Because, as you know, Voldemort is not dead," said Morgan, "And when his minions make moves, I watch. I will not have a dark lord returning to life without having knowledge of it beforehand."

"But…" started Sirius.

"I have no other answer for you, at least none that you would accept," interrupted Morgan, "I only say that I am not your enemy."

"What are you doing now?" asked Harriet.

"Now that I am sure that Lucius has no plans to move, I will investigate a rumour I have heard," said Morgan. "I must leave now, but the next time we meet, I hopefully will be able to explain more."

"Wait!" said Sirius, but it was too late. With a crack, Morgan disapparated.

"Well that raised more questions than it answered," noted Harriet.

Sirius nodded. "I'd be careful around that woman if I were you Harriet," he said directly, "Also, what possessed you to follow her into Knockturn Alley?"

"Instinct," said Harriet quickly.

"Well, too many more instincts like that will get you grounded!" said Sirius, emphasizing his words to make his point.

Harriet shrugged. It wasn't like he was going to beat her. She figured she could outlast any punishment he assigned.

Sirius seemed to notice her complete failure to be impressed. "Am I doing something wrong?"

"Well after Uncle Vernon's punishments, yours seem a little..."

"Underwhelming?" Sirius volunteered.

Harriet nodded, "Yeah," she agreed.

"Well we can talk about this later," said Sirius, "Let's get back to the Grangers."

XXXXX

"So what is this place?" asked Hermione as they entered Quality Quidditch Supplies.

"Quidditch supply store," said Harriet.

"Quidditch?" asked Hermione skeptically.

"It's a sport, played on broomsticks," said Harriet, forgetting that she'd already explained Quidditch to Hermione, "I've only been to one match, but they have six matches a year at Hogwarts."

"Flying on a broomstick has always seemed a bit… scary to me," said Hermione nervously.

Harriet considered this for a moment. "It's not that bad," she said finally, "But I guess it isn't for everyone. I've never flown on my own." She said the last part loudly.

"Yes, yes, I get it, I'll make sure to take you flying tomorrow," said Sirius.

"So what do you need here?" Hermione asked.

"Posters," said Harriet.

"Oh?"

Harriet smirked, "I've got to get something to cover up the sexy lady posters in Sirius' old bedroom."

"Why not just take down the old posters?" asked Hermione.

"My parents didn't approve of my being attracted to muggle women," said Sirius, "So I had to more or less permanently attach them to the walls."

"Not just the walls," said Harriet, "there's one directly above the bed."

"Oh," said Hermione then her face scrunched up as she realized what that might mean, "Eeeeewwww!"

"Please, does everyone have to think the worst about me?" said Sirius, giving his best puppy-dog eyes.

"Well if we do, we're rarely disappointed," said Harriet.

Harriet bought a number of posters, mostly of the Holyhead Harpies. Sirius had pointed out a few posters of members of the Harpies posing in various revealing outfits, but he'd received glares from all the women for his trouble. Not that Harriet was actually mad at him. Sirius delighted in the absurd, and Harriet had to admit she liked to play along.

After leaving the Quidditch store, an old woman at a stall called out to them. "Magical core readings!" she said.

"What is a magical core reading?" Hermione asked the woman.

"It is a measurement of your magical power," said the woman, "Though I sense very little power in you."

Hermione looked downcast.

Sirius put a hand on her shoulder. "You shouldn't feel bad about that. Magical core readings are bunk magic. They only exist to give rich purebloods a sense of superiority. Those readers always say that muggleborns have very little magic. The truth is that you probably have a great deal of magical potential. After all, you were identified as a witch at two years old. Most two year olds don't have enough magical capacity to read as magical, even if they are the children of two magical parents."

"Really?" said Hermione.

"Really," said Sirius.

Hermione nodded, but Harriet took notice of something Sirius had said. "Wait, how did you know that Hermione was identified as a witch at the age of two?"

"Because I was the one who identified her," said Sirius.

Harriet made a mental note that she was going to have to get the story of how Sirius had met the Grangers out of him one of these days.

Their next stop was Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore. Upon entering, Hermione took one look and took off into the stacks.

"Harriet, try to give her a little advice," said Robert, "Without it, Hermione is going to want to buy the entire store!"

Harriet followed after Hermione and found her looking over a book on Advanced Runes. "Not that I doubt your intelligence, but that isn't exactly a good place to start."

"You have some suggestions?" asked Hermione.

"Yesterday Sirius helped me set up a catch up reading list, so yes I do," said Harriet, "We'll start with basic magical principles. Then get you a basic primer on all the major schools. And maybe some books on magical history. Remus Lupin could help you there."

"Remus Lupin?" asked Hermione.

"He was a friend of my parents, is still a friend of Sirius'. He's a good man, probably more responsible than Sirius. He took a mastery in History after the war, so he has a pretty good idea about the current state of magical History," explained Harriet.

Harriet showed Hermione a book on the basic divisions of magic. "So basically, on the larger scale, there are a number of different types of magic," Harriet explained, "There are magical attributes and derived magical attributes that inform things like potions. There are special abilities, that are native to magical creatures and people. There's accidental magic, which is where you use magic without any form of control. The most common type that wizards use is sorcery though."

"Sorcery?" asked Hermione.

"Well there are spells, which are basically specific formulas which provide predictable results, then there is raw sorcery, which is trying to directly manipulate magic," explained Harriet, "You shouldn't try raw sorcery unless you have a good idea of what you are doing. It's amazingly dangerous."

"So how do wizards create new spells then?" asked Hermione.

"They calculate the necessary factors using Arithmancy, which is basically advanced mathematics applied to magic," said Harriet.

Hermione's eyes began to shine.

Harriet showed Hermione a lot of theoretical books on all the subjects she'd have at Hogwarts; Charms, Transfiguration, Defense, Herbology, and Potions. "These books are all about theory, so you won't have to actually use magic to use them," said Harriet confidently.

Finally she came to the history section. "A History of Magic is the standard text," said Harriet, "But Lupin isn't impressed by it. Bathilda Bagshot wrote an excellent recap of events, but she didn't really question a lot of the assumptions that modern magicals have about magical history."

Harriet pulled a different tome off the shelves, "This is _An Introduction to Magical History.,_" said Harriet, "It's a good primer for understanding the broad scope of magical history, but it also examines the ways in which modern witches and wizards misinterpret historical sources."

Hermione gave Harriet an appraising look. "You're _very _well informed about this."

Harriet shrugged. "Sirius made sure I got an early start on this stuff. Though I've lost two years now, so maybe it was all in vain."

Hermione nodded. Suddenly she saw another book nearby. "What is this, _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts._"

"Sounds interesting," said Harriet, "Sirius never mentioned that one to me though.

Hermione opened up the book. Harriet looked in over her shoulder. The beginning of the book seemed to be covering the rise of Grindelwald. Hermione flipped to the back of the book. There was a picture on the page she flipped to. It was a cottage, but part of the roof had been blown out. On the path leading to the house she saw…

Harriet gasped as she realized what she was seeing. Then the rage hit her. "Those _bastards._ They didn't even wait to move the body. They were so damn happy they could just get a picture. And they couldn't even wait…" Harriet's voice had crescendoed into a shout, but she suddenly trailed off. She knew what she had said wasn't fair, it was a major historical event. But it was her life that had been destroyed in that picture!

Harriet tried to stop the tears. She really did. She hated crying. It made her look weak. Crying had always just made her uncle Vernon madder. Yet if this wasn't a time to cry, what was?

Suddenly she felt a small arm around her shoulders. "Are you all right?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah," said Harriet, suddenly a lot calmer, "I just hate being reminded that my parents' deaths are commemorated as the salvation of wizardkind."

"That's horrible," said Hermione, but it was clear she didn't know what Harriet was talking about.

"Is everything all right?" said Robert Granger, who came into their aisle, followed by both Helen and Sirius.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have looked at this book," said Hermione, holding up the copy of _The Rise and Fall of the Dark Arts _for all of them to see.

Sirius nearly snarled. "I see," he said angrily, "I can understand Harriet's reaction then."

"Let's finish making our purchases," Sirius said, "Then we can get some ice cream."

Sirius sighed, "There are some things we need to talk about. To the Grangers, and to Harriet. I've put it off for too long."

**Author's Note:** I've pretty much finished rewrites on The Twisted Path, so Guardians of Atlantis is now my priority as far as writing goes. I've written rough drafts of two new chapters this week, so I am excited at getting writing on this going again.

If the Twisted Path is basically a love letter/critique of a lot of different fan fiction tropes I have seen, then The Guardians of Atlantis is my attempt to do something a little more outside the box. It's actually a lot more dear to my heart then the Twisted Path. It takes two ideas that I had and combines them into one big idea. I have to admit, it really did get completely out of control. It get's way crazier than The Twisted Path, which is firmly rooted in the tradition of a basic Harry Potter retelling.

In any case, I'm really happy to be sharing this story with people finally. Part one has five chapters left, and Part 2 is fully written as well. I am currently about halfway done with Part 3, which covers Harriet's 2nd year. I will be publishing this story at least one chapter per week until I finish Part 1, then I will go on hiatus until I finish writing Part 3 and polishing Part 2. This story has a fairly detailed plan laid out, so it is easier to publish as I write than The Twisted Path is.


	5. All Hallows Eve

**Chapter 5: All Hallows Eve**

Harriet licked her ice cream cone. It was chocolate and it was quite good. Harriet idly wondered how much magic had gone into making it that way. The Grangers had been a little hesitant to eat the ice cream, but once they'd tasted it they seemed to like it. Well, Harriet supposed that they were dentists.

"So where should I start?" mused Sirius.

"That Lucius fellow?" suggested Robert.

"_That'll_ take a bit of explaining to do," said Harriet, "Start with the Statute."

"A good idea!" said Sirius, "So you are all aware of the Statute of Secrecy. The incidents that set us on that path were the witch hunts of the 16th century. Magical society largely withdrew from muggle society, hiding itself away, at least in the west. By the late 1600's it was felt that it was time to reinforce those unofficial policies and so the Statute of Secrecy was passed in order to permanently hide the magical world from muggles."

Sirius paused. "The results have largely been disastrous," he admitted, "though few will say so. One of the biggest problems has been the failure of magicals to understand muggle society at all. The Enlightenment completely changed muggle society over the course of the 18th century, but most magicals still see muggles as primitive barbarians. One of the main social movements to emerge from the post Statute world was Pureblood Supremacism."

"What is that?" asked Robert.

"Pureblood Supremacism is the idea that descendants of magical families should be in control of the magical world. The less muggle blood you have, the more power and rights you should have. So a pureblood like me would be at the top of society, while the middle classes would be made up of those of mixed ancestry, like Harry here, and at the bottom would be muggleborns," explained Sirius.

"You have mixed ancestry?" Helen asked Harriet.

"My mother was a muggleborn witch, that's why my relatives are muggles," said Harriet.

"In any case," continued Sirius, "In the 19th century new strands of thought began to arrive in magical society. Some became progressives, that supported the inclusion of muggleborns as a way of maintaining our links with the muggle world. But another ideology arrived as well. This was Magical Supremacism. This was the idea that magicals should by right rule over non-magicals."

"That sounds ominous," noted Hermione.

Sirius nodded, "During the first half of the 20th century, a Dark Wizard named Grindelwald attempted to unite the Wizarding world around the idea of Magical Supremacy. He was eventually defeated, by none other than Albus Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and the current Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot. But in the years following Grindelwald's defeat, another Dark Lord had fused the principles of Pureblood and Magical Supremacy to make a new ideology, one in which the rightful place of Wizards was ruling the whole world order, but where muggleborns are an underclass, and muggles are all slaves."

"That would be Lord Voldemort," said Harriet, "I only say it because Sirius is inconsistent about doing so."

"Sirius mentioned him, well, back then, " said Robert.

"During the 1960's and 70's You-Know-Who led a group of terrorists called the Death Eaters," said Sirius. "Lucius Malfoy, the man we ran into, was one of the Death Eaters. After the war he managed to bribe his way out of trouble, but the current Minister for Magic knows what he was. Unfortunately, Lucius holds one of the last truly hereditary Wizengamot seats."

"How does the Wizengamot work exactly?" asked Hermione curiously.

"Well, it's the legislative and judicial body of the Ministry of Magic," replied Sirius, "The Minister of course has a seat, and the heads of each Department as well as the Minister's Senior Undersecretary have non-voting seats. Aside from the Malfoy seat, I actually hold a hereditary seat. Harry here actually stands to inherit one of the others. Anyone who is awarded an Order of Merlin First Class is awarded a seat automatically. But most seats traditionally are grants given to a wizard for the span of their life. However, the way the grant acts, generally speaking, the eldest child of a dead Wizengamot member receives a new grant. It isn't necessarily automatic however, which is why those seats aren't considered hereditary."

"So there is no democratic participation?" asked Robert incredulously.

"Well the Minister has been elected since the 1830's," replied Sirius, "But after the last war Barty Crouch, who was the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement at the time, helped spearhead a series of reforms. He added 40 seats to the Wizengamot, all of which are democratically elected. Don't misunderstand though, Barty isn't a champion of democracy. He just did it to cripple the former Death Eaters."

"I see," said Robert.

"Anyway, the war was going very, very badly by 1981. You-Know-Who was probably weeks away from toppling the ministry. There were only two things stopping him, his fear of Albus Dumbledore, and his uncertainty about certain… events," Sirius frowned for a moment, "He targeted a number of those who had opposed him the most effectively. At the time I was part of a resistance group known as the Order of the Phoenix, as were James and Lily Potter, my dear friends. Eventually we learned that You-Know-Who was targeting James and Lily, so we sent them into hiding In Godric's Hollow. We used a spell called the Fidelius Charm, which hid them completely. At least it would so long as the person designated to keep the secret, the Secret Keeper as it were, didn't tell anyone."

Sirius put his hand on his forehead as if to shield his eyes. "They wanted to make me their Secret Keeper, but I thought… I thought it would be too obvious. So I convinced James to make our friend Peter Pettigrew the Secret Keeper instead. I must admit, James wanted to use Remus. For a moment, I suspected Remus of having betrayed us. James tore me a new one over that. I was properly chastised. But he agreed to make Peter the Secret Keeper."

Sirius stopped his breathing having suddenly gone ragged. Harriet reached up and put her hand on his shoulder. All this she had known.

"I suppose I can continue this story for a moment Harriet," said Robert Granger sadly, "Because we were there on October 31st of 1981. We were there when Voldemort murdered your parents."

XXXXX

_Godric's Hollow_. _October 31st, 1981. 9:45pm._

Robert Granger had been surprised by the lengths to which this small town had gone to celebrate Halloween. Godric's Hollow was a strange place to begin with, with a large number of its inhabitants living in primitive conditions, many without electricity. He couldn't figure out why these homes didn't have electricity, they were often right next to homes that did. But on Halloween, the inhabitants of this small village had pulled out all the stops. Decorations went up, as did signs, and the night had been host to a great many entertainments.

There had been a parade of sorts, where a number of costumed people carrying torches had marched down the street singing spooky songs. Most people stayed out late socializing. And the food. It seemed like everyone had made some treat and was sharing it with their neighbors. It was a genuine neighborhood party.

Robert had never seen anything like this in London or Herefordshire, where he'd been born. He'd come to appreciate Godric's Hollow's small town charms, which were decidedly different than those of any other town he'd been in. After dental school, he had been lucky enough to have a number of different options, and he was thankful that he and his wife had accepted the offer that had sent them here.

The undeniable centerpiece of the Godric's Hollow Halloween celebration was Bathilda Bagshot. Bathilda was a pillar of the village, always the first to pitch in when something went wrong, always kind to the children, always ready with a word of advice to those at their wits end. Robert estimated her age to be at least 90 years old. Tonight she was telling stories to the children by a large bonfire. Some were scary, others were whimsical. Robert's daughter, Hermione, was just 2 years old, and wasn't really able to understand the stories yet. But somehow Bathilda could create the wildest sound effects. Animal noises that sounded totally realistic, trains and cars that sounded as if they were right here. And the sounds she made when imitating magic were amazing. Hermione marveled at the spectacular sounds coming from this kindly old woman.

And many of the stories she told were about magic more than anything else. She told stories about witches and wizards, as well as ghosts and monsters. One story was more important than the rest however, the story of the founding of Godric's Hollow. This story was just as improbable as the rest, though it definitely dipped into what Robert recognized as mythology. She told about Uther Pendragon's invasion of Wessex and how it was met by Godric Gryffindor. Godric had been a native of the area, before the original village had been destroyed years back.

Godric had fled to the continent, only to be sent back by Charlemagne to organize resistance against Uther as he consolidated his hold on Wales and Mercia. With him had come Salazar Slytherin, a descendent of Spaniards who had fled to Francia in the face of the expansion of Islam into Spain. Uther himself had been from the same village as Godric, and viewed all of Wessex as his by right. But Gryffindor and Slytherin had rallied the men of Wessex and Cornwall and driven back Uther's armies, fighting a battle on this very ground. Years later, many of the veterans of Godric's army had returned to this spot, and rebuilt the old village, renaming it Godric's Hollow.

The story was fictitious of course. It had to be. Weaving this fictional Gryffindor, with the legendary Uther Pendragon, with the historical Charlemagne. But Robert had to admit it was a good story.

As Bathilda seemed to be wrapping up, two men wandered into the light of the fire. Robert had never seen either of them before. One of the men had dark hair and face paint on his face which made him look like a shaggy black dog. The other had dyed his hair somewhat greyish, though not entirely, with face paint of a wolf on his face. Both men were wearing robes.

"This face paint is ridiculous Sirius," said the wolf man.

"It suits you Remus," said the dog man. He then waved to Bathilda as he walked up to the group. "Ho Bathilda! Good to see you tonight!"

"Sirius Black and Remus Lupin," said Bathilda happily, "I thought you two were fighting."

The dog man, Sirius, shook his head. "James put a stop to that quickly. Said we can't afford to not trust each other."

"For which I am very grateful," said Remus, the wolf man.

"I'm glad that you still listen to James Potter," said Bathilda with a wry smile, "He always was a voice of reason to your lack of any semblance of it," she said.

Sirius bowed before Bathilda. Suddenly a smooth polished stick of wood fell out of his sleeve, rolling on the ground towards Robert.

Sirius smiled at Robert. "And who are you? I used to spend a lot of time in Godric's Hollow, but you look new."

"Robert Granger," said Robert genially, "this is my wife Helen and my daughter Hermione. Helen and I are dentists."

"Oooh," said Sirius as he extended his hand to Robert, which Robert took politely.

Hermione suddenly broke away from her mother and picked up the stick Sirius had dropped. "Here!" she said insistently as she waved it at him. Suddenly a whole lot of multicolored sparks flew out of the tip of the piece of wood. Hermione squeaked and dropped the stick.

Sirius, Remus and Bathilda all gave each other surprised looks. "What was that?" Helen asked suspiciously.

Sirius deftly picked up the stick. "It's my magic wand my dear lady," he said smoothly, "And I'm sorry Hermione, but you'll have to wait until you are older to get one."

Robert couldn't help but grin. He liked this man for some reason.

"Are you going house to house for food?" asked Bathilda, "I know you always had an insatiable appetite as a child."

"We're pranking James and Lily actually," said Sirius conspiratorially.

"No we aren't," said Remus with a shake of his head. "We were just going to visit them."

Bathilda nodded. "Well they don't need any trouble!" she said emphatically, "So try to behave yourself."

"James was a Marauder, he knows how important it is to keep up our traditions," protested Sirius.

"James and Lily?" asked Robert, "I don't think I have met them."

"The Potters live...nearby," said Sirius, "But they don't get out much these days."

"I see," said Robert. There had been a strange hesitation when Sirius said that his friends lived nearby. He wondered about that. It almost seemed as if there was some undercurrent to this conversation he couldn't quite pick up on.

"Anyway, we have to get going…" started Sirius, when he was suddenly interrupted by a massive explosion.

Robert turned. A house he had never seen before had appeared down the street. It definitely had not been there before. It was a two story cottage, but a huge hole had been blown in the second story.

"NO!" screamed Sirius. Remus had a look of horror on his face.

"What IS that place?" asked Robert.

Sirius and Remus turned to look at Robert. "You can see it?" said Remus. His voice sounded as if he was going to be sick.

"Of course I can see it!" said Robert.

Sirius and Remus broke out in a run towards the house. Robert turned to Helen. "Take Hermione home, I'm going to see if anyone is injured."

Helen nodded. "Be safe honey," she said as she picked up their daughter and began walking home.

Robert ran after Sirius and Remus. He passed several houses, mostly the more primitive houses without electricity. There were very few people outside them now, and those who were there looked terrified. What was happening?

Suddenly, he felt something like a wind blow over him, threatening to knock him over. But in the wind he swore he could hear a sort of unearthly scream. He couldn't describe it, yet it clawed at his brain. He felt an immense pressure as if the wind was trying to break into his skull. Robert collapsed to his knees, screaming. Distantly, he heard a voice yell "_Expecto Patronum!" _A bright light appeared, but he couldn't quite make out what it was. The light got closer, then he felt the pain in his head lessen. The wind dissipated. And he was looking at what appeared to be a dog made out of light flying by him.

He shook his head clear. That had been very odd. He got on his feet and ran towards Sirius, who was pointing that 'wand' at Robert.

"What was that, how did you…" Robert started.

"Magic wand, remember?" said Sirius. He then continued towards the cottage. Robert struggled to keep up. What had that meant?

When Sirius reached the damaged house he stopped, and suddenly let out a cry of horror and pain, the likes of which Robert had never heard before. Sirius fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. Remus buried his head in his hands. When Robert arrived at the gate to the front yard he saw that Sirius was kneeling by the body of a man. The man was clearly dead, his eyes staring vacantly.

"No, no, James," said Sirius desperately, "It can't be. I can't…" And with that he broke down sobbing.

"Is there anyone else here?"asked Robert.

Sirius snapped his head up suddenly. "Lily and Harriet!" he said, before running into the house. Robert followed with Remus close behind.

Inside it was chaos. This was one of the houses without electricity, so there was a fire on the hearth, and lamps lit all over the place. But the explosion had knocked items all over the place. Robert was amazed a fire hadn't started. He looked into the kitchen. The sink was full of water, someone had been doing the dishes. A few of them were on the floor. But some of the dishes were in the sink. And they were cleaning themselves.

And that was when it hit him. Sirius hadn't been joking. They were really using magic. And suddenly, why half the town didn't have electricity made sense. This was a town of wizards. No wonder Halloween was such a big holiday here!

Robert made his way to the second story and into the destroyed room. It was a nursery. Sirius was standing over the body of a redheaded woman. She too was clearly dead. "Oh Lily," said Sirius, his voice breaking, "What did we get you into?"

Remus entered the room and hung his head. "Damn it all, damn that bastard."

"What happened to them?" asked Robert.

Sirius looked at Remus through his tears, then sighed. "They were murdered."

"With magic?" asked Robert pointedly.

Sirius nodded, "From the fact that the bodies weren't damaged at all, I guess it was the Killing Curse."

Suddenly there was a cry from the cradle in the middle of the room. Sirius's eyes widened in disbelief as Robert ran over to the cradle. Inside was a baby girl, maybe 15 or 16 months old. And on her forehead was a lightning bolt shaped cut.

"What did he do to her?" said Robert.

Sirius gasped. "He tried to curse her, and it failed. Oh Merlin, the curse rebounded on him!"

"Wait, what?" asked Remus, "that's impossible. The Killing Curse can't be blocked."

Sirius shook his head sadly. "This is old magic. Magic like they used in the very first days, before Atlantis. Some of the older families still remember it. My family still remembered it. I told her this spell. Lily always loved hearing stories about old magic," Sirius took a deep breath as he slowly and carefully picked up Harriet, "Lily sacrificed her life to save Harriet. Such an act of love would be so pure, it would stop any power held by a man as dark as You-Know-Who. Even this curse."

"I do _not_ know who," said Robert.

Sirius looked at Remus again. Finally Sirius turned to Robert. "His name is Voldemort, and he is a powerful dark wizard. Or maybe was."

"That wind…" said Remus. Robert remembered the wind that had, for the want of a better word, attacked him.

"So he isn't dead," said Sirius.

"If he got hit with his own killing curse, shouldn't that kill him?" asked a confused Robert.

Sirius nodded, "Yes but think on this, do corpses send out a wind that tries to possess people in the non-magical world?"

"No," said Robert, "Is that a thing they do in the magical world?"

"No, it must certainly is not," said Sirius, "But I think it took out most of his power. It's just a shade, suffused with powerful dark magics. Which is why the Patronus worked on him. I thought it was a dementor at first."

Sirius was looking Harriet in the eye. She cooed, and he poked her nose, causing her to giggle.

"She's your goddaughter," said Remus as he put his hand on Sirius's arm, "You're responsible for her now."

"We have to get her to safety," said Sirius.

"Wait," said Robert. "What do I do? What happens now that I know Magic is real."

Sirius shrugged as if this was unimportant. "Normally, I'd wipe your memory," he said, causing Robert to back away, "But there's no need for that."

"At the risk of sounding ungrateful, why not?" Robert asked.

"You'd find out about magic in a few years anyway," said Remus.

"Your daughter is a witch," said Sirius.

Robert remembered the sparks. "You mean, that wasn't an accident?"

"She has magic, a lot of magic if she can produce wand sparks at this age," said Sirius.

"We'll have someone a bit better qualified come to talk to you about this in a few days," said Remus, "Just try not to tell anyone about magic in the meantime."

"But why hide?" asked Robert.

Sirius shook his head. "That's a good question, but I really don't have time to answer you."

Sirius made his way to the front lawn followed by Remus and Robert. When they reached the front lawn, they saw a giant of a man running up.

"Hagrid!" shouted Sirius, "They're dead, Lily and James are dead!" Suddenly, Sirius fell to his knees again.

"No!" said Hagrid in a rough voice, "Not James and Lily!" the man sounded dazed.

"I…" Sirius trailed off. It was as if he had suddenly lost something vital, a part of his will.

"I'm so sorry Sirius," said Hagrid, "Dumbledore sent me ter see if I could help once he realized something was happening."

"He sent you?" said Sirius faintly, "Where is he?"

"He's about, trying to find You-Know-Who. He said if there were any survivors to bring 'em to Hogwarts."

Sirius stood up again. "All right," said Sirius, "Take Harriet. I have something I need to do."

"Wait, are you just going to abandon your goddaughter?" asked Robert, aghast.

"Hagrid can keep her safe," replied Sirius, "I have to find the man responsible for this."

"No, Robert is right," said Remus, "Harriet's safekeeping has to be your primary consideration. Take her to Hogwarts, meet with Dumbledore. Then we plan our revenge."

Sirius seemed to rebel against this notion for a moment, but then the defiance in his eyes faded. "I...you're right," he said, "Let's go to Hogwarts."

Remus walked up and grabbed Hagrid by the arm. Sirius turned and faced Robert.

"Thank you for your help," said Sirius, "Remember, when the wizards come asking questions, tell them your daughter is a witch. And don't tell anyone about magic! We'll send someone along in a few days."

And with that Sirius and Harriet disappeared with a sound like a car backfiring. Remus and Hagrid disappeared with a similar sound.

Robert was standing alone. "Am I insane?" he asked no one in particular.

XXXXX

_Present Day_

Harriet was silent. She had known the basics of what had happened to her parents of course, but this retelling had made it a lot more real. Hermione was also quiet, but she was hearing all this for the first time.

"That was more or less the end of things from my side of it," said Robert, "Oh I did have a couple of interesting run-ins the next few days. I met Minerva McGonagall, with whom I've stayed in touch with over the last few years. Also…" Robert suddenly started, his eyes widening.

"A couple days after Halloween, a young woman, she had to have been 17 or 18 years old, she came by and asked me a bunch of questions," said Robert, "I'd almost forgotten about her but I'm almost certain she is the same woman Harriet chased out of the bank."

Sirius had finally snapped out of his funk, and gave him a sharp look, "Did you tell her about your run-in with that 'wind'?" asked Sirius intently.

Robert nodded. "I did. She seemed very upset at hearing that."

Sirius exhaled slowly, "Well, at least it seems she isn't trying to _help _You-Know-Who. But it doesn't mean she's entirely trustworthy. People who act that suspiciously are rarely up to nothing."

"What happened after you took Harriet to Hogwarts?" asked Hermione.

Sirius shrugged. "Not much to tell there. Once Remus and myself convinced Dumbledore that I was not the Potters' secret keeper, we told the DMLE what had happened. We were able to trap and arrest Peter the next day, and he confirmed that You-Know-Who's body had been killed and his spirit driven off. I eventually took Harriet to her aunt's house and asked Petunia to take care of her. She agreed, largely because I'd had the decency to ask her. Also, there are protections on Harriet so long as she lives with a blood relative for part of the year, because of the way her mother protected her. Though with every year those protections grow weaker, until she comes of age at 17, when they will vanish."

"Is lack of choices a real issue for muggles dealing with the magical world?" asked Helen nervously.

"Unfortunately, yes," admitted Sirius, "I think the whole Statute of Secrecy was a bad idea, mind you, but precious few wizards in Britain agree with me. But as things stand non-magical relatives have basically no say in what happens to their magical children, barring a few largely symbolic actions."

"What does that mean?" asked Helen, who was even more on edge now.

"You can't unilaterally pull your daughter out of magical schooling for one thing," said Sirius, "Not that it would be a good idea to. Magical children who do not receive magical schooling are really dangerous. At best you could transfer her to another school, the closest of which would be Beauxbatons in France, and the closest that teaches in English would be in America."

"Even the right to transfer her could be challenged under the right circumstances," noted Harriet, "Though in order for that to happen Hermione would have to oppose it. So long as you are all on the same page in regards to her schooling there shouldn't be any issues."

"That would only happen if Hermione challenged your guardianship of her," said Sirius quickly, "In most cases the Wizengamot will side with a magical child over their muggle parents, but the situation in which that case would get that far is not a likely one."

"You said you oppose the Statute of Secrecy," said Hermione suddenly, "Why?"

Sirius shook his head. "Because one of these days, something magical will be broadcast live to the whole world, and it will fail all on its own. It's just another manifestation of isolationism anyway. I think the magical and muggle communities have a lot to give each other. That being said, I'm not campaigning to end it, I just think we should be ready for the moment that muggle technology makes its end inevitable."

"I have given thought to what video cameras might mean to the magical world," admitted Robert, "I think you might be right."

"Well hopefully we'll be ready when it happens," said Sirius.

XXXXX

The group made their way back toward the Leaky Cauldron. It had been an exciting day for Harriet. She'd gotten to know Hermione a lot better. Hermione did have a tendency to be a know-it-all, but she also liked to learn new things. She wasn't close minded, but Harriet could already see that Hermione would need reminding to keep her from slipping into lecture mode on any topic she was remotely knowledgeable about. Hermione's parents had also been nice, thought they were clearly worried about losing their daughter once she became part of the magical world. Robert had continued to ask questions since they'd left the ice cream parlor, and Sirius had assured him that the current government was unlikely to cave to pureblood demands, even if real reform was unlikely.

As they reached the entryway to the Leaky Cauldron, it opened before Sirius could do anything to it. A pale man with greasy dark hair walked out to stand right in front of Sirius.

"Black," the man said so evenly that it might as well have been a shouted insult.

"Severus," said Sirius, his face going equally deadpan.

"Not going to use that amusing nickname you had for me back in school?" said Severus mockingly.

"No," said Sirius, who surprisingly hung his head, refusing to meet the other man's gaze.

Severus looked at the Grangers, then Harriet. When he saw Harriet he started violently. He clearly recognized her, despite the disguise. "Potter," he said, almost through clenched teeth. But there was something in his eyes that Harriet saw. It was gone in an instant, but was it sadness she had seen there?

Harriet wasn't about to be caught flat-footed by a man she had never met. "Harriet Potter," she confirmed, "I'm sorry, but I don't believe we've been introduced."

Severus narrowed his eyes for a moment, then saw that she was being serious. "Severus Snape," he finally said, "I went to school with your parents, and your godfather here."

Snape looked at Harriet again, then seemed to deflate a bit. "I have nothing good to say about your father and godfather, but I was once friends with your mother. You look… you have her eyes."

Snape moved to walk away, but then stopped just before passing. He looked at Harriet again, his eyes clearly haunted by something. Then he walked on, seemingly without effort, but at great speed.

"What was that about Sirius?" Harriet asked as she put her hands on her hips.

Sirius sighed sadly. "I'll tell you all about it when we get home Harriet. I would rather not get into it in public. It isn't something I'm proud of."

Harriet nodded. But she wasn't going to drop this. The way Snape had treated Sirius had been so contemptuous. There was more to that story.

XXXXX

That evening Harriet lay across her bed. Her conversation with Sirius had not gone well. Much as she loved her godfather she could see that he had done some very bad things.

Kreacher had put up all of her posters for her. In a funny twist, it seemed that Kreacher had been able to remove the old posters easily, but he hadn't before because Regulus Black had asked him not to. Kreacher was another example of someone Sirius had wronged. How could he not see how loyal Kreacher had been to Regulus? He would have extended that loyalty to Sirius if Sirius could have just treated Kreacher kindly.

The story about Snape had been grim. Most disturbing had been the time that Snape had called her mother a mudblood, after being utterly and cruelly humiliated by her father and his friends. While Harriet agreed that had been an unacceptable insult, she understood what he had been feeling. Harriet wouldn't want anyone seeing her in that state. Snape had snapped at his mother out of unbearable shame.

The story of how Sirius had nearly killed Snape had been nearly as bad. Harriet could accept that Sirius hadn't believed that Snape would go looking for Lupin while he was in werewolf form. But the fact that Sirius had thought that even a slight risk of that happening was acceptable was… heartbreaking. She really did look up to Sirius, and to see him as a common bully was just more than she could bear. When Sirius had tried to justify his actions by arguing that Snape later became a Death Eater, Harriet had snapped.

"And why do you think he became a Death Eater," she had yelled, "Maybe it was because the poster boys for the other side were bullies who drove away his best friend."

Sirius's face had said everything. He knew how badly they had messed up. Before Harriet stormed out though Sirius had been sure to make one thing clear: Snape had eventually changed sides and become Dumbledore's spy in the Death Eaters. And he was now the Potions Master at Hogwarts.

There was a knock at the door. "Come in," she said neutrally. The door opened and it was Remus.

"I heard you had a heart to heart with Sirius today," said Remus.

"Yeah," said Harriet sadly, "I wasn't really prepared for it to be honest."

"I understand, It wasn't easy for Sirius either," noted Remus.

"You were a part of it all as well," said Harriet angrily.

"Yes I was," said Remus, "And I was wrong. I've apologized to Severus for it. I won't say he accepted my apology gracefully, but he eventually did accept it. Sirius though, what he did was worse, and he doesn't believe that Snape would accept his apology. And he's probably right."

"You apologized?" said Harriet, surprised.

Remus nodded. "I did it after the war. I felt that if I was going to take part in raising you, even peripherally, I needed to make amends. I needed to be a better person. It's why Sirius crusades for the rights of muggleborns and muggles in the Wizengamot, even though he is often fighting an uphill battle. He's trying to be a father to you, and part of that is trying to be a better person for you. Ten years ago he never would have called Snape anything other than Snivellus. Did he do that once today?"

Harriet shook her head. "No he didn't."

"We did stupid, horrible things as children, then we grew up," said Remus, "What we did to Snape was wrong. We wouldn't do the same today."

Harriet nodded. "I guess I'll just have to see for myself."

Remus smiled, "A good policy. Anyway I'm leaving now, there's a full moon coming soon. I'll be away for a few months, I have a prior engagement, but hopefully I will see you in December."

Harriet got up and hugged Remus. "Stay safe. And don't forget your potion."

Remus returned her hug. And at that moment, Harriet realized that whatever Sirius and Lupin had done before, they were family. They might disappoint from time to time, but that was to be expected.

She would have a much easier time sleeping that night than she had thought.

** Author's Note: ** This chapter is finally starting to unveil just a little bit about what makes this story different. I created an alternate history for the magical world, as well as fleshing out the way magic works in a way that is somewhat different from the books, but is still very much in the spirit of the books.

On the matter of Harriet and Hermione's interactions, I think one of Harriet's bigger flaws gets exposed in the next chapter. One thing to note is that it is not just Hermione's effect on Harriet that you need to watch. It is Harriet's effect on Hermione that actually causes the biggest changes. Though again, this is a sloooow burn. You don't see the full consequences of this until Part 6 (Fifth Year).


	6. Tragedy and Triumph

**Chapter 6: Tragedy and Triumph**

As Sirius entered the office of the Minister for Magic on Monday afternoon, he thought back on this roller coaster of a weekend. Harry had been very angry at him on Saturday night. Not that she didn't have a right to be furious, but it had felt odd. Sirius had thought that those parts of his life were over, and yet here they had come back to haunt him. Remus had somehow calmed Harry down, but Sirius knew that a part of the trust he had built with her for so long was gone. Part of him was furious at Snape for forcing this conversation, but that feeling he suppressed ruthlessly. Sirius had no one to blame but himself.

But maybe he could make amends, if not to Snape, then to Harriet. And this meeting would be the beginning of that. Griselda Marchbank was already there waiting, while Cornelius Fudge was sitting in a corner. Moments later, Arthur Weasley, Department Head of the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes, ran into the room. Sirius liked Arthur. He'd gotten his start at the Ministry in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office, but Crouch had transferred him to the Muggle Liaison office almost immediately upon being elected Minister. Arthur had been fairly effective, but most importantly the Weasleys had been feuding with the Malfoys for generations. Lucius had hated him, and so Crouch had promoted him again.

"Oh good, I'm not late," said Arthur, "I had a meeting with the muggle Prime Minister this morning."

Sirius blinked, "Really?"

"Well, we did take Dursley into custody without coordinating with muggle authorities," said Arthur, "So the Minister felt I should explain the situation to the muggle Prime Minister."

"Isn't that something the Minister should do himself?" asked Sirius.

"I wasn't trying to shirk my duty," said Barty Crouch as he walked into the room, "I just can't stand Margaret Thatcher. The Muggle Liaison office is part of Arthur's portfolio after all, so why not delegate this?"

Sirius nodded. He'd heard of Thatcher, of course, given that he was more in tune with the muggle world. She had a reputation as being difficult, at least from some quarters.

"She wasn't happy that we'd unilaterally arrested Dursley, but when we revealed the extent of the abuse we'd uncovered she had to admit we hadn't had much of a choice," said Arthur.

"So why are we all gathered here?" interrupted Barty, "I assume you want to push a new piece of legislation."

"An educational reform bill," acknowledged Sirius, "Griselda and I discussed it a couple years ago, but for obvious reasons I had to put it aside."

"I am grateful that you still wish to continue this," said Griselda, "but can we get the votes?"

"As things stand, I think the purebloods are on the back foot. If we can get this out by the next scheduled Wizengamot meeting, I think we can catch them by surprise," explained Sirius.

"Can you write a whole bill in that time?" asked Crouch.

"Well," said Sirius coyly, "When I said that I set it aside, that didn't mean I stopped working on it. It's mostly done, it just needs some updating and polish, and some help from Arthur here on one of the more controversial aspects of it."

"Let's deal with the controversial part first," said Crouch.

"Two parts really. First is an amendment to the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction of Underage Sorcery," said Sirius.

"What?!" said Crouch.

"An amendment, not a repeal," said Sirius, "The first part reduces the age a witch or wizard can use magic to 15, provided they have passed an O.W.L."

"That is… reasonable actually," admitted Crouch, "But can the Trace be modified to work like that?"

"Yes," said Griselda, "When the Trace was first created we didn't have the Arithmancy to create those sort of magical conditionals. We do now. It would take about a week, but we could make the modifications."

"And the second part?" asked Crouch.

"We need to provide some form of magical practice outside of school. Especially for muggleborn students," said Sirius, "I want to create some means by which we can have supervised magic use outside of school."

"That would wreak havoc with the Trace," said Crouch.

"Not if it takes place at a suitably magically shielded location," said Arthur, "Or if we have some sort of predefined filter set up."

"I was thinking that a group of parents could host study groups for the muggleborns, most magical homes are already so full of magic that the trace can't be detected there," said Sirius.

Crouch frowned, "I agree that this is a good idea in principle, but are you trying to undermine the Decree for the Reasonable Restriction for Underage Sorcery?"

"Well, yes," admitted Sirius, "and for good reason!"

Arthur nodded. "The truth is that many purebloods are already flouting the law as it stands. This would just allow muggleborns a chance to get equal footing."

"No other country has a rule as restrictive as the decree," noted Fudge, "This makes sense, and fits your image as a reformer."

Crouch looked at Fudge suspiciously. Crouch found Fudge useful sometimes, but they didn't get along very well. Fudge was too smooth. Crouch couldn't quite believe Fudge wasn't trying to undermine him. Finally he nodded.

"I suppose that makes sense. You need to be certain that we can get around the problems with the trace before I can agree to this. And there needs to be an action plan to deal with potential Statute of Secrecy violations," said Crouch.

Sirius nodded, "Another reason I needed Arthur here."

"And the rest of the bill?" asked Crouch.

"It would simply mandate that we follow international educational standards," said Sirius.

"For most classes this would simply involve updating the tests to reflect more modern trends," said Griselda, "The Examination Authority would do most of the work, though the teachers would have to update their curricula."

"There are a few classes that this won't work for, such as Divination, Muggle Studies, and History of Magic," admitted Sirius.

"History of Magic will be the most difficult," said Griselda, "As a ghost Professor Binns is not capable of learning anything new. Simply put, Hogwarts will definitely need a new History instructor."

"What about Defense against the Dark Arts?" asked Arthur, "That class is notoriously bad."

"The problem there is not standards," said Sirius, "but the fact that You-Know-Who probably put a curse on the position."

"This sounds like it will really annoy the pureblood traditionalists," said Crouch, "I like it. Can you start work today?"

"I'd love to, but I have to get home," said Sirius, "I left Harriet in the care of Kreacher, but I made the mistake of inducting her into the family. Which means that Kreacher can choose to ignore me in favor of her. Which he always will, because he hates me. Hell, he obeys Remus over me even though Remus isn't in the family solely because it annoys me. Teaches me for telling the elf to obey him."

"If your house elf hates you, why don't you give him his freedom?" asked Arthur.

"I was going to, but Harriet thinks that might kill Kreacher. He is rather old, and Harriet likes him. I figure the least we can do for him is to give him a familiar place to live out his last years in peace."

Arthur gave Sirius a warm smile. "Actually, I have an idea. Why don't I ask Molly if she'd be willing to look after Harriet while you're working on this? I'm sure she'd agree."

"That actually sounds like a good idea," said Sirius.

"Very good," said Crouch, "keep me updated on your progress. Hopefully we'll be able to cram this legislation down the pureblood's throats."

XXXXX

Harriet had enjoyed the last two days immensely. On Sunday she had finally gone flying on her own, something she'd wanted to do for years. Sirius had intended to take her flying the very weekend he'd had his fateful argument with her uncle. She was still upset about how he'd treated Snape, and she was still a little in shock from the discussion they'd had about Voldemort. It had been nice to get her mind off all of that to be honest. She'd actually managed to get some time alone in the house when Sirius went to meet with the Minister. She'd done some exploring. She hadn't broken any of the rules he'd set for her, but she had definitely been looking into how the rules might be broken.

That had led her to an uncomfortable realization, that she really wasn't that different from her godfather. He'd been an incorrigible rule breaker himself. When she'd noted that out loud, she'd found support from, of all places, Kreacher. "Master Sirius never cared about Kreacher, no he didn't. That makes Mistress Harry much better than him."

And Harriet realized he was right. The very fact that she cared about this meant that she was very different from the boy Sirius used to be.

All that aside, Harriet was starting to go a bit stir crazy. 12 Grimmauld Place wasn't exactly a fun place to live. Despite all of Sirius's work to make the place livable, it still very much had the feeling of a home designed for a very old woman who made questionable design choices. That was probably Kreacher's doing, as his devotion to his old masters was still quite strong. Harriet had to admit, she was looking forward to getting to see the countryside.

So when she emerged stumbling from the fireplace at the Burrow, it was with a sense of excitement, despite the fact that she knew nobody here.

Sirius followed behind her. A red-headed, motherly looking woman stood in front of them. "Sirius Black, it is good to see you again!" she said with genuine affection.

"Molly!" shouted Sirius, "I haven't seen you in ages, not since…" Sirius trailed off sadly.

Molly seemed to get misty eyed for a moment. "You were a good friend to Fabian and Gideon during the war and I haven't forgotten it. I am only too glad to babysit your goddaughter," she said as she turned to Harriet, "You must be Harriet." Molly Weasley gave Harriet a warm smile.

"Yes ma'am," said Harriet. No use being rude, even if she'd been inclined.

A string of red-headed children and teenagers began walking into the room. "Let me introduce my children," she said, "The oldest there is Charlie, that there is Percy, the twins are Fred and George, the youngest boy is Ronald, and the girl is Ginny. Everyone, this is Harriet Potter."

All the kids said hello, though Fred and George made a big show of bowing in front of her, and Ginny seemed to have a hard time not staring at Harriet.

A red-headed man walked into the living room. "And this is Arthur, my husband," she said.

"Harriet!" said Arthur in a chipper voice, "I'd love to talk, but Sirius and I are off to work!"

Harriet was tempted to retort that her godfather was donating his time freely, but bit down on that urge hard. She did NOT need to start acting the part of a spoiled brat.

Arthur and Sirius were both off moments after. "I'll show Harriet around the house!" said Ginny excitedly.

The tour was interesting, and Harriet was constantly stopping to find some new little wonder or curiosity. This of course meant adjusting her new glasses. St Mungo's had sent her a pair yesterday, saying that their check-up had revealed that she needed them. They did take a bit of getting used to, but once she put them on she had realized that she had needed them desperately.

Finally Ginny showed Harriet inside her bedroom. Once inside, Harriet decided that they had enough privacy to ask some questions. "You seem excited to be having me here," she noted.

Ginny shrugged, "Well you are a national hero. They tell all sorts of stories about you. Even though they aren't true, they are pretty inspiring. And then we heard the stories about how you escaped from the muggles. It was impressive!"

Harriet realized that this was just a case of hero worship. It was a little annoying, but at the same time Harriet didn't think it would hurt Ginny as long as she understood the way things were.

"Just remember, Ginny, I'm just another person," said Harriet. "I don't really like it when people point out my fame, the things it reminds me of are unpleasant."

"I didn't…" started Ginny, but Harriet raised her hand in protest.

"I wasn't saying you were, I'm just letting you know how I feel," she said.

"I'll remember that Harriet," said Ginny.

"My friends call me Harry," said Harriet.

"All right Harry," said Ginny, "What do you like to do?"

"I like flying," said Harriet, "which I was only able to do on my own for the first time on Sunday, thanks to my Uncle Vernon. Before, like two years ago, Sirius would fly me around on his broom. It was great."

"Nobody has taught me how to fly yet," said Ginny. Harriet was about to protest this injustice when Ginny smiled and finished, "So I snuck the brooms out and taught myself."

Harriet grinned. She was going to like Ginny. "Good for you! But why haven't they taught you yet? How old are you?"

"I'm almost nine," said Ginny, "And my mum says it's too dangerous. Though it wasn't too dangerous for Ron and the twins to learn at this age."

Harriet wrinkled her nose. "That's not fair," she said.

Ginny nodded, "I know, that's why I taught myself. I've kept it all a big secret. The only other person who knows is Bill, my oldest brother, but he never told anyone before he left. He also gave me a lot of advice about it."

Suddenly Ginny started to giggle, "I'm sorry, I can't believe I'm sharing my secret with Harriet Potter."

Harriet nodded tolerantly. This was a big moment from Ginny's perspective, and she wasn't going to cheapen it. The idea that Ginny really wanted to be her friend was exciting, and a lot better than the barely verbal veneration she got from a lot of the other residents of the magical world.

"Actually, the boys are playing Quidditch right now," said Ginny sadly. "I'd like to join them, but my mother wouldn't hear of it. Plus we don't have enough brooms now that Bill took his away."

"You know what," said Harriet, "I have a broom. And I bet Sirius could loan us another,"

"My mother won't let me fly," said Ginny.

"We won't ask for permission," said Harriet with a grin.

Ginny laughed, "Oh, you're going to be trouble!"

"But that can wait for tomorrow," said Harriet, "What will we do today?"

Ginny considered this. "Well," she said after a moment of thought, "I guess I could show you the surrounding area. Oooo, I could take you to Luna's!" said Ginny, grinning with excitement at the last bit.

"Luna?" asked Harriet.

"Luna Lovegood. She's a neighbor," said Ginny, "A good friend of mine actually. And she's a witch. I think you'll like her."

"I'd love to meet her," said Harriet.

XXXXX

Getting permission to go over to the Lovegood home turned out to be easier than Harriet had guessed.

"She should meet the neighbors," Molly had agreed. Harriet suspected that Sirius had mentioned something to Arthur about Harriet getting to spend time in the country. Whatever it was, Harriet wasn't going to argue.

The walk was rather picturesque, a shady path that wound past a small stream.

"You know, it's nice to have another girl to talk to," said Ginny suddenly, "I mean my mum is nice and all, but she has raised six boys and doesn't really know how to raise a daughter other than how she was raised. She can be a bit old-fashioned."

"I have a similar problem actually," said Harriet, "My Aunt isn't exactly a warm person, and until recently I had exactly zero friends who were girls. Part of the problem with being into 'boy stuff.'"

Ginny nodded. "I know what you mean. Luna... well you'll meet her in a bit. She lives in her own little world to be honest. But she does have some interesting hobbies," Ginny sighed, "But she likes to be alone a lot of the time."

Harriet was intrigued. This Luna sounded like an interesting person.

Soon they left the path and came out onto a house on top of a little hill. It looked like a rook from chess.

"Isn't that rather visible?" asked Harriet.

"It has a muggle-repelling charm on it," said Ginny, "Though I'm not sure what they see, now that you mention it."

There was a girl in the yard with platinum blonde hair. She was bent over, looking at the ground with a magnifying glass.

"Found something interesting, Luna?" asked Ginny.

Luna looked up and smiled, "I was looking for Invisible Red Ants," she said with all seriousness.

"How would you tell if an invisible ant is red?" asked Harriet.

"Well, there is no such thing as an Invisible Black Ant," said Luna.

"Well that was a silly question on my part," Harriet said with a grin.

"Luna, this is Harriet Potter. Harry, this is Luna," said Ginny in introduction.

"Are you secretly a boy?" said Luna (which elicited a groan from Ginny), "My father says your parents changed your gender in order to make you seem less of a threat to You-Know-Who."

"I don't think so," said Harriet, "I have to admit, it would explain a lot about me. But I think it's more likely that I'm just a girl who's spent way too much time around boys."

"That explanation is far more boring," said Luna.

Harriet grinned. "True," she said lightly. She already liked Luna, but also recognized exactly why she might not exactly be much help to Ginny as a confidante.

"Who is this?" said a tall woman with the same colour hair as Luna, "Has Ginny brought a friend over?"

"This is Harriet Potter," said Luna, "She is apparently a girl, as boring as that sounds."

"Hello Harriet," said the woman, "My name is Pandora Lovegood, Luna's mother. I hope she hasn't offended you."

Harriet shook her head. "Not at all. Life's more fun when you have a sense of humour about it."

"Good," said Pandora, "Her father is a brilliant man in his own way, but he really can come up with some of the strangest ideas for the Quibbler."

Harriet's eyes widened. "Wait, YOU publish the Quibbler?"

"Yes," said Pandora with a glint in her eye.

"I love the Quibbler!" said Harriet, "All the other papers are just boring. The Quibbler gives me things I want to read. Even if…" Harriet trailed off, not knowing quite how serious they were about this.

Pandora laughed, "Even if it isn't real you mean?"

Harriet nodded.

"Well, we know that our news is a bit on the dubious side, though not all of it is nonsense," said Pandora, "Most of it is satire. To some degree."

Harriet laughed. She really liked Pandora.

For the next hour Luna, Ginny and Harriet looked around for imaginary creatures. It was strange at first, but Harriet thought the game was fun. Luna seemed to understand that the creatures she was looking for weren't real, but that didn't stop her from taking the game absolutely seriously. At the same time she didn't mind Harriet making light of it. All in all, it was very fun. After a while they seperated to look for creatures Luna called nargles. When Harriet and Luna came back, they found Ginny sleeping in the shade. So Luna invited Harriet in for a drink.

"I'll get some butterbeers," said Luna and she ran down into the cellar.

Harriet sighed. Sirius had given her butterbeer on Sunday, probably to help her forgive him.

"Something wrong?" said Pandora, who was sitting at the kitchen table.

Harriet just shrugged, "I had an argument with my godfather. He... well, he used to be a bit of a bully."

"I remember. I went to school with him, and your parents. Your mother and I always got on well," said Pandora, "Are you are worried that Sirius is the same person as then?"

"How bad was he?" asked Harriet.

"Sirius and your father were by far the worst bullies in school, " said Pandora, "But they mostly only tormented the Slytherin students. Poor Severus Snape got the worst of it. But a lot of that was because your father was jealous."

"Jealous?" asked Harriet.

"Snape was close to your mother, and James always had a crush on her, even back then, but she wouldn't give him the time of day. Your father at least later expressed remorse for what he had done."

"And Sirius?" asked Harriet.

"I'm sure you know how Sirius feels about Slytherin," said Pandora, "All I can say is that Snape seemed to be proud of his house, and that made Sirius angry. I think a lot of that emotion is still there, but for Sirius it has been tempered by the tragedies he's experienced. That much loss changes a man."

"So what you're saying is…" said Harriet.

"Your godfather loves you, that's what is important," said Pandora, "If he acts unreasonably from here on out, well you just have to do your best to correct him. But don't ever doubt that he is trying."

"Thanks," said Harriet, now deep in thought.

"I found them!" said Luna who had two bottles in her hands. She looked perplexed when she saw her mother looking serious. "Did you want one as well? I didn't know you were sitting there."

Harriet and Pandora looked at each other and started to laugh.

XXXXX

"So how was your day?" said Sirius once they had returned to Grimmauld Place.

"Good!" said Harriet, "I had fun with Ginny. We went and visited her neighbors, the Lovegoods."

"Ah!" said Sirius, "How are Pandora and Xenophilius doing?"

"Well, though I didn't meet Mr. Lovegood," said Harriet, "I met Luna and her mother though. Luna's sweet, but kind of different."

"That is utterly unsurprising," said Sirius.

"Anyway, the boys were playing Quidditch, but they didn't have enough brooms to let us play," said Harriet, a little bitterly.

"Seems a little unfair," said Sirius.

Harriet smiled, "Well, I can always bring my broom, but that won't help Ginny."

"Do you need to borrow a broom? Regulus had one you can let her use."

Harriet smiled, "Thanks, I will also need to talk to Kreacher."

"Oh?" wondered Sirius curiously.

Harriet's grin was vicious. "Just a little prank I'm working on."

Sirius laughed. "I think the Weasley boys aren't going to know what hit them."

XXXXX

Harriet and Ginny were waiting the next day for the boys to finish their chores. Since Harriet had arrived early, she'd helped Ginny finish up quickly. Finally the boys finished, and Molly gave them permission to go out.

"Hey can we join you?" said Harriet.

"Sorry, we don't have another broom," said Charlie.

"Plus Ginny doesn't know how to fly," said one of the twins who Harriet randomly labeled George,

"Can't have her hurting herself now can we," said the other twin, who Harriet decided was Fred.

"You wouldn't be able to keep up anyway," said Ron.

Harriet narrowed her eyes. "Well, I'm definitely NOT going to make you eat those words."

"Harriet, let the boys play," said Molly.

"Of course Mrs. Weasley," said Harriet, a little too cutely.

Charlie frowned, but the twins' eyes lit up. From what Ginny had told her about them they probably could sense that she was up to something. Ron seemed suspicious as well, but he didn't say anything more.

Soon the boys were tossing around a Quaffle, Ron and Charlie taking on Fred and George. Watching from the trees nearby, Harriet had to acknowledge they were all pretty good flyers. Obviously Charlie was the best of them, given that he was the Gryffindor Quidditch captain.

Finally she decided she'd had enough. "Kreacher!" she said.

The elf appeared, holding two brooms, Harriet's cleansweep and Regulus's older broom. Harriet grabbed her broom, and Ginny grabbed the other one.

"We are going to get in so much trouble for this," said Ginny.

Harriet grinned. Ginny couldn't help but laugh at that.

Harriet mounted her broom and Ginny followed suit. Harriet immediately accelerated to full. Charlie had the Quaffle. He was the most skilled, but he also wasn't on the lookout for a fifth player. He put the Quaffle in one hand to throw it, and suddenly it wasn't there anymore as Harriet snatched it out of his hand.

"We're playing a new game now!" said Harriet, "Keepaway!"

Ron lunge forward on his broom but Harriet dodged him easily. Charlie tried to sweep in and grab the Quaffle from behind, but Harriet pulled into a twisting dive and then pulled up at the last second, allowing her to pull away from Charlie. The twins seemed to instinctively try to box Harriet in, but she had anticipated this. She threw the Quaffle to Ginny. Ginny pulled away from the boys quickly. Regulus' broom was fast! Harriet made a note to herself to ask Sirius what model it was.

For five minutes, they successfully kept the Quaffle out of the hands of the boys. Charlie seemed to be enjoying the new game, and the twins laughed every time one of the girls made a good escape. Even Ron seemed to get into things.

The fun only ended when Molly ran out in a near panic. "What is going on?"

"We're playing Keepaway," said Harriet.

"But… the brooms!" said Molly.

"They're mine," said Harriet, "Kreacher brought them for me."

Ginny floated in. "We would have shown the boys mercy if they'd tried to find some way to let us play."

"But they didn't, so now they have the ignominious distinction of having been outflown by two girls," said Harriet.

"But Ginny, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO FLY!" said a shocked Molly.

"That's funny, it looks like she knows how to fly just fine," said Harriet.

"That she does," said Charlie, "She's a natural. C'mon Mum, if she can fly, why not let her play with us?"

"Well… I mean it's all right of course, but how did you learn how to fly?" Molly asked

"I've been sneaking brooms out early in the morning for years." Ginny acknowledged, "Bill knew, but he isn't one to tell my secrets."

"Well if Bill was watching you..." said Molly, somewhat pacified.

"Harriet," said Fred.

"That was brilliant," said George

"With moves like yours, you'd make a decent Seeker," Charlie acknowledged.

"That's nothing compared to the fact that she got one over on us!" said George

"Us, the prank kings of Hogwarts!" said Fred. Harriet wondered how two boys who had just finished their first year could be the prank kings of Hogwarts. What exactly had they been up to? She decided to keep an eye on them.

"Are we going to play Quidditch or not?," said Ron. He certainly took his Quidditch seriously, thought Harriet. He seemed to be pointedly ignoring her. But then she smiled. Her gambit had paid off. As she looked over towards Ginny, the other girl gave her a thumbs up. Things were looking up.

XXXXX

As the days passed at the Burrow, Harriet was getting used to things. It was now Thursday, and she had learned a lot about the Weasley family. The Weasleys had been fairly poor until recently, when Arthur had been promoted to Department Head. They were living a lot more comfortably now, but it was clear that the sheer number of them was putting some strain on the budget. Still, Harriet could see their situation was changing, and things were definitely on the upswing at the Burrow.

She'd started to get used to the quirks of the Weasley boys as well. While Charlie liked Quidditch, his real love was animals, especially dragons, which he liked to talk about all the time. Percy was… difficult, but he was at an age that Harriet honestly didn't expect anything different. He was a bit too much of a stickler for the rules though. Fred and George were every bit the pranksters Ginny had said they were, and Harriet showing them up had definitely earned her a degree of respect from them.

The real problem was Ron. It wasn't that Harriet disliked the boy. In fact they had a lot in common! They both liked Quidditch, they were about the same age, they both had been forced to put up with years of hand-me-downs. Ron seemed to be a decent person all in all. So why was he so reticent to talk to her? She'd tried on several occasions, but he just didn't seem interested.

She'd asked Ginny about it, and Ginny had been genuinely surprised by the question. So Harriet asked Molly.

"A lot of boys Ron's age don't like to talk to girls, it isn't personal," Molly had said.

Which as far as Harriet was concerned was garbage. Harriet being a girl was no reason for this treatment. But what to do about it? Then she remembered one time that Dudley had got in a fight with his friend Piers Polkiss. An argument had spiraled out of control, and they'd thrown punches at each other. Yet at the end of it all they had been closer than ever. Friendships between boys were weird, but the whole thing gave her an idea.

It took her some time to get Ron alone, which was necessary for her plan to work. Ginny would probably intervene, which would screw everything up. But eventually Ron had gone into the trees when his mother asked him to pick some mushrooms for a potion, and Harriet had followed.

"Hey Ron," she said as she walked up behind him.

"Blimey!" Ron shouted angrily, "What're you sneaking up on a bloke for?"

"I wasn't sneaking, you weren't paying attention," Harriet said with an annoyed tone in her voice, "I just wanted to talk to you."

"Why?" Ron was clearly puzzled.

"Well that there is the problem," said Harriet, "You're always really dismissive of me. Even when there is something we clearly agree on, you clearly don't seem interested in what I say. I think we have a lot in common, but you don't seem to care about anything I do. That's annoying."

"Well why would we have anything to talk about?" asked Ron, "You're a girl."

Harriet shook her head, "I was afraid it was something like that. Well there is nothing for it but…"

And then she punched him in the gut. Not hard, she didn't want to actually hurt him. Just make him uncomfortable.

"What the bloody hell?!" he shouted, "Are you mental?"

"Probably," admitted Harriet, "You should hit me back."

"I'm not hitting a girl!" shouted Ron, his face aghast.

"I'm gonna keep hitting you until you hit me back," she said matter-of-factly, then punched him again.

"No!" Ron said stubbornly.

"That's your choice," said Harriet. She punched him in the shoulder, a bit lighter so as not to hurt either of them.

"Why are you doing this?" shouted Ron.

"If a boy did this, you would punch them back. That's how I want to be treated," said Harriet. She punched his other shoulder.

"You can't treat boys and girls the same way!" said a scandalized Ron, "There are things that it's inappropriate for boys to do to girls."

"Why not?" said Harriet angrily, "Why can't you just treat me the same way you'd treat your brothers? I'm more than capable of telling you if you're doing something I don't approve of! Why don't you just treat me like normal and let me worry about if something is inappropriate or not. Cause I'll tell you!" And she punched him in the face.

Reflexively Ron punched back, his fist striking her in the cheek. He was so surprised by this that he stumbled and fell back on his backside.

"Finally," said Harriet, "Do you understand what I'm trying to say? A girl can be just as dangerous as a boy" She reached out her hand to help him up.

"I'm not going to start hitting girls," said Ron.

Harriet looked at him for a long moment, then broke out laughing. She was laughing so hard she started to cry. A moment later Ron joined her sheepishly.

"Okay, that was a dumb thing to say," admitted Ron.

"Talk about completely missing the point!" Harriet said through her tears.

"I get it. You want me to treat you like a boy right?" said Ron.

Harriet nearly corrected him, then shrugged helplessly. "Good enough for now I guess," she said with only a hint of annoyance in her voice.

As they walked out of the woods, they saw Molly making her way out. "What was that shouting?"

"Ron and I had an argument," said Harriet, "It's over. He realized I was right."

"Uh, yeah I guess I did," said Ron.

Molly laughed. "I can see you're training him well."

Harriet blinked. Now what did that mean? The twins were sniggering out of one of the windows.

"I'm not sure what you mean," said Harriet, "but if I'm going to be friends with someone they WON'T be ignoring me."

And she walked back in the house.

XXXXX

On Friday, Arthur and Sirius flooed into the Burrow at their usual time. They both looked tired.

"Rough day?" asked Molly.

"Not exactly," said Arthur, "But it was exhausting. Still we're making progress. Unfortunately , I am falling behind on my work for the Department. I'll have to work tomorrow, and probably next weekend as well."

Ginny "But we were going to go hiking tomorrow!" she said sadly.

"Oh I'm sorry Ginny, I didn't remember that it was tomorrow," said Arthur, his contrition obvious to all, "We'll do something on Sunday."

Harriet walked up to Ginny and put her hand on her shoulder. "You know what? Maybe we could do something tomorrow."

"That's a wonderful idea Harriet," said Molly.

"We could invite Luna over, and I have another one of my friends who I might be able to convince to come."

"Sounds like fun," said Ron. Ginny gave him a weird look. He'd been making strange expressions of support for the things Harriet said all day today. Harriet found it a little weird.

"Thanks Harriet, I'd love to," said Ginny.

Sirius wore a faux angry grin. "Am I ever going to get a chance to spend time with my goddaughter?" Harriet narrowed her eyes at him. "Fine, fine, I'll just have to make it up on Sunday." He winked.

Harriet rolled her eyes. Sirius really was a pain sometimes.

XXXXX

Hermione was all too willing to meet a real magical family. She was quite interested in seeing how a magical family lived. Her mother was a bit worried that she didn't know the Weasleys, but Sirius assured her that he'd be there the entire time. This alleviated most of her concerns.

Hermione had a bit of trouble with the floo, but it was easily sorted out. When they arrived, Ginny was waiting and wearing a nice green dress with lots of ribbons.

"Were we supposed to dress up?" asked Hermione.

"No, I just felt like wearing this for the first bit." said Ginny. "My Mum got it for me, and I haven't had a chance to wear it. Once we go outside I'll change."

"It's a very pretty dress Ginny," said Harriet, "This is Hermione."

Ginny extended her hand, "Pleased to meet you.

Luna arrived shortly thereafter. Her dress was full of frills, but she also had jeans on under it.

"I thought we might be doing some flying," she said.

"You're probably right," said Harriet.

"Oh no, I don't know how to fly!" said Hermione.

"Don't worry, it's easy," said Harriet.

Luna was giving Hermione a strange stare, so Harriet introduced them. "Luna, Hermione. Hermione, Luna."

The two shook hands.

"So how should we start?" said Molly. Sirius had wandered into the kitchen, probably prowling for food, thought Harriet.

"Exploding snap!" said Luna. They all got down on the floor and taught Hermione how to play. She seemed to find the game silly, but before long she was having as much fun as everyone else.

They then moved outside, where four brooms had been set up, Luna and Harriet had their own brooms, but Regulus's broom was there as well for Ginny, Sirius had left his own broom there as well.

"You should ride my broom," Harriet said to Hermione, "It's really stable. Sirius is letting me use his broom today."

Hermione nodded. The girls quickly showed her how to fly (with Luna making reference to how to avoid nargles). With Harriet's detailed and patient instruction, soon Hermione was flying. She wasn't exactly soaring, and was still a bit nervous, but she seemed to get the hang of it. Soon the girls were flying through the woods, staying low to avoid muggles seeing them. It was, all in all, very fun. Even Hermione agreed.

"I've never gone flying with a group of girls before," said Ginny, "It's more fun when you don't have to deal with boys constantly trying to outdo each other with stupid stunts."

The girls all agreed that boys did make everything more difficult, though Luna seemed to not really understand exactly what Ginny was talking about.

Finally they all returned to the Burrow for some more activities. But when they got there, Arthur was there.

"Daddy!" said Ginny excitedly, "I thought you had to work." But Harriet immediately saw the grim look on Arthur's face. Something was very wrong.

"I'm afraid I'm here for work sweetie," said Arthur sadly, "Luna, I need you to come with me. Your mother has been in an accident. I'll bring you to your father."

Luna's eyes grew wide, "Is she all right?" she asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

Arthur was doing his best to keep a straight face, but he was clearly very upset. "Your father knows all the details Luna."

Ginny walked over and hugged Luna. "Thanks for coming over," she said.

Harriet hugged Luna as well, "Just remember that I'm always willing to talk to you if you need me. Just floo call me!"

Luna smiled at Harriet, then followed Arthur into the house.

Once they were gone, Hermione was the first to speak, "I hope Luna's mother is all right." Harriet and Ginny looked at each other significantly.

"Did you see the look on my dad's face?" said Ginny sadly.

"Mr. Weasley would have started by saying she was all right if she was," said Harriet, "He wouldn't tell her anything. Which means…" The girls turned to Molly and Sirius, both of whom looked upset.

Molly just burst into tears. Sirius shook his head. "Pandora Lovegood was experimenting on a spell, and it went wrong. Very wrong. It exploded and…"

"She's gone," said Harriet.

Ginny went over to her mother and buried her face in her mother's dress. Hermione put an arm around Harriet's.

"Poor Luna," said Hermione. Harriet wrapped her arm around Hermione's more tightly and nodded. Poor Luna indeed.

XXXXX

Sirius sat waiting for this interminable session of the Wizengamot to move on. Not that it was actually that long, but these meetings that had no items on the agenda were excruciating. Still, all his work this last week was about to pay off.

Harriet was at the Weasleys' one last time. Harriet had taken the death of Luna's mother rather badly, but he supposed it was natural. She hadn't known Luna very long, but she had a decided sensitivity to children who lost their parents. Apparently Ginny had taken it much worse, which was also natural, as she'd known Pandora Lovegood for most of her life. Hermione had felt sad of course, but with basically no connection to either of the Lovegoods she'd been largely all right. Her parents had been more upset to learn that Pandora Lovegood had been killed by a backfiring spell.

Sirius wasn't sure exactly what spell Pandora had been casting, but he had a sinking suspicion that she had been experimenting with raw magic. It was fine to do that it you had a talent for reading raw magic, or if you did exhaustive arithmantic calculations. But Sirius remembered one day that Lily Evans had run into the Gryffindor common room proclaiming: "Pandora Lovegood is trying to get me killed! Her arithmancy was all wrong and everything exploded." Sirius suspected that Pandora was not really a qualified enough arithmancer to accurately predict the outcome of her spells.

The Grangers had become convinced that Arithmancy was similar to muggle science. Sirius had tried to explain how that was both a good and bad analogy, but he didn't think he'd gotten through to them. To be fair, he'd never taken Arithmancy, so his understanding was limited.

Still, the recent events had led Sirius to understand a significant mistake he'd been making with Harriet. For all her seeming maturity, she was still only ten years old. Yes, she had been through some things that had made her a bit more aware of the unjustness of the world, but her lack of experience meant that she was still emotionally very immature. She had almost no compass to judge what her grief was doing to her, and while Sirius thought she was handling things well, he knew she would need guidance to work through her feelings.

She'd also told him about her encounter with Ron. He'd replied to her that she'd been very lucky that things had worked out so well for her. A lot of boys wouldn't react so well to a girl beating them. Luckily for Harriet, Molly had a bit of a commanding personality, which had left Ron a bit more comfortable with the idea of a girl pushing him around. Sirius wondered if Harriet realized that the whole thing could be seen as her bullying Ron. He doubted it. Harriet probably saw it as completely justified because of Ron's sexism. And she wouldn't be wrong exactly, but Sirius had pointed out that following that logic could lead her to justify a lot of other violent acts. Harriet had agreed not to try something like that again.

"Is there any other business?" said Albus Dumbledore.

Showtime. Dumbledore knew something was up, but the details had been kept to a small group of people. Now it was all going to come to light.

"Yes," said Sirius, "I have been working on a bill for some time, along with Griselda Marchbanks, and more recently Arthur Weasley. We would like to present the Educational Reform act."

"Is there an objection from the Minister?" asked Albus.

"No objection," said Crouch.

Greengrass and his purebloods all sat up at that. That meant that Sirius had already run this by the Minister and had approval. They were down most of their most conservative members. Lucius, Nott, and a number of the other ex-Death Eaters had not shown up today, probably to keep a low profile. Why shouldn't they? There was nothing of importance on the agenda for today. They'd all looked like morons during the emergency session, especially Lucius.

As Fudge began reading the bill, Sirius mentally congratulated himself again for their clever compromise. Really he should congratulate Arthur, but he had, multiple times. Simply put, Hogwarts would be allowed to put together a list of approved magic that students could practice at home. The list would obviously be put together based on the safety of the magic to be practiced. As long as the spells cast came from inside the residence of the magical student, and they were casting one of the approved spells, there would be no need to issue an underage magic warning.

Fudge finished reading the full bill. Sirius was looking at Albus, whose eyes seemed to be twinkling extra hard. Maybe he should have let Albus in on this a bit more. Looking over at Greengrass, he saw the man scowling.

"Are there any objections to this being brought to a vote?" asked Albus.

This was the real test. There were only about 70 members of the Wizengamot here today. Only 10% objecting could force this to go to an open floor debate, which would by necessity have to be at the next meeting. That meant 7 people.

All the purebloods looked to Greengrass. Finally, he sighed heavily and shook his head. Despite this two of the purebloods raised objections anyway. But it wasn't enough.

"As there are not a significant number of objections, we will proceed to the vote," said Albus.

The vote was a foregone conclusion. Sirius had made sure most of the progressives had known that something was up, so they'd attended in force. The bill was passed with a massive majority.

"If there is no other business, this session of the British Wizengamot is concluded," said Albus.

"Well done Sirius," said Greengrass who immediately sprang to his feet to congratulate him.

"I'm surprised you feel that way," said Sirius suspiciously.

"Nonsense, I always like to see new people making legislation," said Greengrass.

_Translation, _thought Sirius, _I'm going to try to drive a wedge between you and Crouch by making you look like a threat to him. Lovely._

"Sirius," said Albus with a smile as he walked over from the seat of the Chief Warlock, "We need to talk."

"I've made your life a lot harder, haven't I?" asked Sirius with fake sympathy.

"When haven't you?" said the old man.

"Actually I wanted to talk to you as well," admitted Sirius before dropping his voice to a whisper, "Have you ever heard of Morgan Solaire?"

Albus frowned, "I have, but why?"

Sirius shook his head. "Not here. But I promise you, it's important." And Sirius led the way to his Wizengamot office.

** Author's Note: ** Yes, Ron has a crush on Harriet. And yes, she is very clueless. And she will remain clueless for a loooong time. No, Harriet isn't interested in Ron, nor will she be in the future.

Voldemort in his wraith form is basically a being of pure dark magic. He already has a problem with positive emotions when he has a body, so getting a patronus sicced on him while in wraith form had to be excruciating. It wouldn't have actually harmed him though.


	7. Return to Surrey

**Chapter 7: Return to Surrey**

"Are you ever going to sit down and be quiet?" asked Auror Moody as Harriet paced up and down in the waiting room.

"No," said Harriet as she flashed her most winsome smile. Moody rolled his eyes, which in the case of his artificial eye meant it behaved more or less like it usually did.

"I'm so sorry that I'm nervous about seeing the man who abused me over and over again," said Harriet dryly, "I should have thought about the way that would disturb the legendary auror, Mad-Eye Moody, because he clearly will be more sensitive than a 10 year old girl."

Moody sighed exasperatedly. "Why did they pick me?"

"Because the Death Eaters might actually try to kill me," said Harriet, "Even if they haven't got a prayer of pulling it off, better safe than sorry."

Moody nodded approvingly, "That's a good attitude to take Potter. You might survive to adulthood thinking like that."

Harriet was in a waiting room, waiting to be called into the trial of Vernon Dursley. This was actually her second trial of the day. The first trial had been a closed trial in front of the full Wizengamot, as Runcorn's Death Eater past had been fully exposed. Harriet had testified briefly, but the truth was that the trial had moved well past being a simple abuse case. Harriet didn't know exactly what had happened in there, but Sirius had assured her that Runcorn would not be seeing the outside of Azkaban any time soon.

Vernon's trial was a decidedly smaller affair. With a jury of six Wizengamot members, it would be far less formal, largely because Vernon had no chance of being sent to Azkaban. If he was convicted, he'd go into the muggle prison system, as Azkaban would probably be lethal to a muggle.

The door opened, "Time to go," said one of the court clerks. Harriet made her way into the courtroom, Courtroom 3.

The courtroom was a small affair on level 2 of the ministry, next to the Wizengamot Administration Services. Harriet had been told that it was generally used for criminal matters that didn't carry a sentence in Azkaban, and was particularly used for the rare cases that muggles came before magical law. Runcorn's trial had been held in Courtroom 10, which was down below the Department of Mysteries. Sirius had expressed confusion as to how there could be something below the Department of Mysteries, though Harriet wasn't sure why that was a problem.

Sirius waved at Harriet. He hadn't been called as a witness, as the only thing he had been involved with was Vernon's arrest, and there were no charges pending for that.

Crouch was acting as the presiding officer for the trial, while Bones was acting as the prosecution. She had told Harriet that she would have preferred to deal with this administratively so that Harriet didn't have to testify, but pressure from the muggle government had forced them to give Vernon a full jury trial. That wasn't good news for Vernon however, as an administrative sentence had to be severely limited in duration. He was now facing 10 years in prison.

Amelia started the questioning. The questioning went on for some time. Harriet was somewhat less demonstrative than she had been in her performance for McGonagall and Marchbanks, but she did give clear, concise answers. Vernon was sitting mere metres away, and as she testified his face turned purple with rage. She kind of wished he would charge her and get stunned for his trouble, but she realized that was very unlikely. Vernon's law-wizard occasionally made an objection, but Crouch immediately shot down all objections. Harriet wouldn't quite call it unfair, but she did think that maybe Crouch wasn't an impartial arbiter.

Finally, Harriet was through with the questions from the prosecution. Vernon's law-wizard stood up.

"Miss Potter, how would you characterize your relationship with your uncle?" asked the lawyer.

"I would say that our relationship was icy prior to my eighth birthday. After he banned me from seeing my godfather and he started beating me I'd call it extremely hostile," said Harriet.

"So you were very upset that you couldn't see your godfather?" asked the lawyer.

Harriet almost laughed. Was he really trying this obvious ploy? "Yes, he was like a father to me. Also when he was around, my uncle didn't beat me."

The law-wizard frowned, "A yes or no would have sufficed Miss Potter."

Harriet smiled, "I disagree. It's not my fault I'm giving complete answers to your questions."

The law wizard scowled. "So given that you wanted to be reunited with your godfather, isn't it possible that you lied in order to achieve that end?"

"No," said Harriet.

"Wait, what?" said the law-wizard abruptly.

"I said it isn't possible, are you hard of hearing?" said Harriet, "I mean it is possible that I _could _have lied, but you didn't ask that. You asked if it was possible that I lied. I did not lie, so it is not possible that it happened that way."

The law wizard was fuming. "No further questions,"

Harriet smirked, and walked over to where Sirius was sitting. She probably shouldn't have gotten into it with Vernon's law wizard, but his theory was going to go down in flames the moment they saw her injuries so she didn't see the harm.

She sat down next to her godfather. "A little cocky there," he said.

Harriet shrugged, "He wouldn't attack me with that if he had any case at all."

The next up to testify was Petunia. She told her story somewhat stoically, but it was clear she was on the verge of tears the whole time. Her testimony confirmed that Vernon had struck her when she had tried to stand up for Harriet. It was oddly comforting to Harriet that her aunt hadn't been complicit in her abuse. Vernon's lawyer had no questions for Petunia. She walked over to sit by Sirius and Harriet but before she reached there Harriet stood up and gave her a hug around the waist. Petunia was clearly surprised at this display of affection.

"What was that for?" asked Petunia.

"For having the courage to be here," said Harriet, "Even if it was only for Dudley's sake."

"Right," said Petunia uncomfortably. Still, she seemed less anxious afterwards as she sat down.

Petunia had outright refused to let Dudley testify, though he had wanted to. Still the rest of the witnesses were likely to seal Vernon's fate. The next witness was Minerva McGonagall. She submitted her memories of her interview with Harriet complete with the examination of Harriet's injuries that had been excluded in the Wizengamot meeting. At seeing those images Sirius had nearly lunged across the room to attack Vernon, only being stopped by the fact that Harriet had jumped into his lap in order to prevent him from standing. Next Andromeda Tonks had testified to the results of her more thorough examination.

"It is my opinion that Miss Potter was subject to constant physical abuse," she said at the end of her testimony.

Vernon's lawyer had almost entirely given up at this point. He didn't even cross-examine Andromeda.

Closing statements were brief. Amelia simply did a review of the evidence. Vernon's lawyer begged for mercy for the poor uneducated muggle, which sent Vernon into a fury. Harriet had to admit that it was probably the best shot he had now.

"Does the jury need to deliberate?" asked Crouch. When the jury indicated no, Crouch called the vote. Every wand lit up in favor of conviction.

"Vernon Dursley,' said Crouch, "You have been found guilty of child abuse and aggravated assault on a child. You are sentenced to no less than 10 years in prison, within the muggle penal system. This court is adjourned."

After the trial ended, Sirius took Harriet and Petunia back to his office.

"I'm surprised there was no media afterwards," said Petunia.

Sirius smiled. "That's why they held it in the DMLE courtroom. The media doesn't have access to that court unless specifically granted it. Which given that the primary victim is underage was never going to happen."

Petunia nodded, then straightened her posture. "So what is your plan for Harriet's living situation?"

"Well, it's largely up to Harriet," said Sirius, "I'm not going to force her to do anything."

"I don't think I'm quite ready to head back to Privet Drive," said Harriet.

"I'm not sure we'll be able to keep the house actually, not without Vernon's pay," said Petunia.

"Nonsense," said Sirius, "I'll take care of that. Harriet has agreed that she will eventually return to you, but she does feel that she needs some time to breathe."

"I understand, though school is starting soon," said Petunia.

"Well actually," started Sirius, "I'm enrolling Harriet in a different school. We learned today that Runcorn didn't use magic on Harriet's teachers. They just completely failed to notice that Harriet was being abused. So I'm going to try to move her one town over, and put her in Hermione's school."

"Will we be in the same class?" asked Harriet excitedly.

"Maybe," said Sirius, "Though Hermione is in an advanced program. You'd have to work really hard to catch up."

"With Hermione's help I'm sure I could do it!" said Harriet confidently.

Sirius and Petunia both smiled. "Well in any case, I think we can set up the Grangers with a floo access," said Sirius, "That way she can stay with me for a while when she's in school."

"I'm thinking after Halloween honestly," said Harriet. "I'd like to visit my parents' graves then anyway."

Petunia's eyes went misty, "I…I've never been to Lily's grave."

Sirius gave her a pointed look. "Do you want to come along?"

"I think that... yes I would," said Petunia.

"And then I can return to Privet Drive with you afterwards," said Harriet.

Petunia nodded.

"So we're set!" said Sirius. Harriet smiled. Harriet was finally looking forward to returning to Surrey.

XXXXX

Sirius, true to his word, met with teachers the next day. It took some convincing, especially since the last year of Harriet's grades had actually been Dudley's grades, but somehow he'd managed to convince them to move her into Hermione's class. However, she'd need to do catch up.

Harriet wasn't really worried about grammar, reading or History, as she was a fast learner in those categories, and she could easily pick up any things she'd missed on the fly. However the mathematics and science work was likely to swamp her. Hermione had stepped up however, and had offered to tutor Harriet. As a result, Harriet spent most of her spare time studying with Hermione.

Harriet had to admit that Hermione wasn't the best teacher in the world. It wasn't that she didn't know the material, but that she had little patience for people who didn't instantly grasp the topic at hand. Luckily, Harriet was a quick learner, so Hermione rarely got more than moderately frustrated.

Next Saturday Helen Granger walked in and put a stop to their study session. "You two have had enough studying!" she said, a sentiment that Harriet shared.

"I know, I can take you to a museum," said Helen with a snap of her finger. It was all a bit too artificial for Harriet's taste. Clearly this had been her plan all along. Hermione protested, but when Harriet expressed her desire to go, Hermione reluctantly dropped her objections.

This was how they found themselves at the British Museum later that morning. Harriet had never been there before. She was actually quite impressed by the number of historical artifacts there, though Hermione put a bit of a damper on things when she discussed how they'd been stolen from their native countries. Of particular note was the frieze from the Parthenon.

Looking at the frieze Harriet saw a doorway not far away. "What's in there?" she asked.

"Where?" said Helen looking around for what Harriet was looking at.

"There!" said Hermione as she took her mother's hand and dragged her towards the doorway. Helen started as if the doorway had just appeared in front of her.

Inside the small room was a stone, about the size of a football though far more jagged and not round. On one side it had runes carved on it.

"Neat! What is…," started Harriet as she approached the stone. Suddenly she felt dizzy and sick, and fell to her knees.

"Harry! Are you… whoa," said Hermione as she ran to help Harriet, but she too tripped and fell.

"Are you two all right?" asked Helen.

"They'll be fine," said a woman who walked in wearing a witch's robe, "They just aren't used to being in the presence of something like this."

"It's like it's warping magic!" said Harriet as she tried to collect herself.

"That's because it IS warping magic," said the witch, "This is the Olympus Stone."

Harriet gasped, "This is an Atlantean Keystone?"

"What's an Atlantean Keystone?" asked Hermione.

"Atlantis was a magical empire fueled by a powerful artifact known as the Atlantean Runestone," explained Harriet, "The Runestone was guarded and its power regulated by a group called the Guardians of Atlantis. One day, the Emperor of Atlantis decided he should control the Runestone, so he sent his army to take it. In the ensuing battle the Runestone was shattered into 7 pieces. The emperor took one, the other six were taken by the surviving Guardians to the ends of the earth. The Olympus stone was one of the shards, called an Atlantean Keystone."

"So it warps magic?" asked Hermione.

"A keystone can control the flow of magic around it," said the witch, "The keystones form massive leyline nexuses around them. So moving them can cause problems. That's why this stone is kept in this room at all times. No one alive actually knows how to make full use of it, and trying could… well it could be disastrous. So we just kind of leave it alone, or in the case of other Keystones use them to anchor powerful magics."

"I see," said Hermione.

"There's another Atlantean Keystone at Hogwarts, or so I've heard," said Harriet, "But this is one of the most powerful magical artifacts in the world."

"I'd suggest you not spend too much time near it," said the witch, "If you haven't spent enough time in a magic rich environment, being too near the keystone can be disorienting."

Harriet nodded. She didn't need to be told twice.

XXXXX

They had taken the train into London, and took it back out again. Once they had reached their station they made their way toward where they had parked. But before they had even left the platform Harriet heard a familiar, dreamy voice asking, "Do you know how to get to the Leaky Cauldron?"

"Just a second!" said Harriet as she ran towards the voice. Sure enough, she saw Luna speaking to a man who was sitting on the ground, his back against a fence. The man was wearing very tattered clothes and was sneering at Luna.

"Gosh awaysh little girl, lesh you want a good thrashing," he said drunkenly.

"Luna!" shouted Harriet. Luna looked at Harriet calmly.

"Oh, hello Harry," said Luna as if seeing her here was the most normal thing in the world.

"You lost?" asked Harriet.

"I'm starting to think so," said Luna, "I was trying to make my way back to the Leaky Cauldron, and I got separated from my father."

Hermione and Helen had finally caught up to Harriet. "You _really _need to stop doing that, Harriet," said Helen.

"Luna!" said a surprised Hermione.

"Mrs. Granger, this is Luna Lovegood," said Harriet. Helen's face immediately softened as she realized who this was.

"Harriet thinks I'm lost," said Luna, "I think I might agree with her."

"Why don't you come back to my house?" said Hermione, "We have a floo connection so we can find if they're looking for you. If worst comes to worst, we can always send you to the Weasleys."

Luna thought for a second. "That sounds like a good plan," she said finally. She turned to the dirty, drunken man, "Thank you for your help, but I think I'll be going with my friends here." The man stared at her, baffled.

"This way!" said Harriet, "Have you ever ridden in a car before Luna?"

Luna shook her head.

"Well, it's your lucky day!" said Harriet.

XXXXX

When they finally got back to the Grangers' house, Harriet took Helen aside for a moment. "Could you give me a moment with Luna? I...She needs to talk about some things. I think."

"Of course, Harriet," said Helen with a weak smile.

Harriet walked into the living room, where Luna had sat down on the Grangers' couch. "It isn't moving, or hovering, or wrapping you up in a blanket, or doing any of the magical things couches normally do," she said as if this were the strangest thing in the world.

"Well, it isn't a magical couch," said Hermione.

"How boring," said Luna absently.

"Hermione, could you give me a hand with something?" asked Helen.

"Of course Mum," said Hermione. As she left, she gave Harriet a brief nod.

Harriet sat down next to Luna. "How are you doing Luna?" asked Harriet.

"Oh, I am very good," said Luna, "Daddy took me to the zoo today, I loved seeing all the animals. Even if they weren't magical. So many different types."

Harriet sighed. "Luna, I don't believe you."

"Really, there were so many different types of animals. I really liked the elephants. And the anteaters. I have to admit; I may just like funny noses…"

"Luna," said Harriet firmly, "I don't believe that you are fine. I lost my parents when I was a baby. I don't even remember them. And there are still times that I'm not fine."

"Oh," said Luna, "that."

Harriet waited for Luna to continue. There was no point in pressuring the poor girl.

"My father thinks that it would be best to try not to think about that," said Luna sadly.

Harriet shook her head, "Is that what you think?"

"My father is a very smart man," said Luna defensively.

"I never said he wasn't," said Harriet, "I've never met him. But just because he's smart, it doesn't mean that what he, a grown adult needs is what you need. I can't imagine what he's going through. But I can kind of understand what you are going through. I've had to live that my entire life. And I know I'd want to, eventually, talk about it. Maybe not now, but at some point. So I ask again, what do you want?"

Luna stayed silent for a moment then she rested her head on Harriets shoulder, tears starting to pour down her face. "I don't know, I...I'm just sad. And angry. Why am I angry?"

Harriet put her arm around Luna. "I don't know," she admitted, "I've heard that it's normal though."

"Why did she put herself at risk?" asked Luna, "Why did she keep working on that spell, even knowing what could happen, knowing that she might…" Luna trailed off.

Harriet squeezed Luna tighter. "I don't know that either. But it wasn't on purpose. She loved you, I could see that clearly the one time I met her."

Luna sat there, now burying her face in Harriet's shoulder. After a moment she pulled her face out and wiped her eyes.

"You know Luna, you should write me," said Harriet, "We can write about whatever you want to write about. The animals you are looking for, the things you are doing, and when you feel like it, how you feel about your mother. I think it might give you an outlet for all this."

Luna nodded.

Helen poked her head in the room, "Everything all right?" she asked.

"Yes, I think," said Luna.

"Good, now let's get you home," said Harriet. She walked over to the fireplace. There was a small tin of floo powder on the mantelpiece. She threw it in saying, "Connect me with Arthur Weasley, the Department of Magical Accidents and Catastrophes."

Arthur's head appeared in the fireplace. "Harriet? Is there a problem? I'm rather busy right now."

"Yes," said Harriet, "I found Luna Lovegood in a train station in Surrey. She got lost, got on the wrong train, and can't find her father."

Arthur immediately looked relieved. "Thank goodness! We've been looking for her! I'll come through and get her immediately."

Moments later Arthur popped out of the fireplace. "Ah, where am I?" asked Arthur as he realized he did not recognize this location.

"This is the Granger home," said Harriet, "This is Helen Granger, and her daughter Hermione."

"Oh, good to meet you!" he said happily, "Are you saying this is a muggle house?" Arthur looked very excited.

"Mr. Weasley," said Harriet chidingly, "Focus."

"Yes, of course," said Arthur without missing a beat, "Luna, if you would accompany me, your father is at the Ministry. He's been worried about you."

"Of course," said Luna.

She turned to Harriet, "I'll write you. And thank you."

Harriet smiled. Luna wasn't referring to the rescue. "Anytime Luna."

"Ministry of Magic!" said Luna as she leapt into the fireplace. And she was gone.

Arthur shook his head, "Xenophilius needs to get his head on straight. I understand his grief, but he has to keep a better eye on his daughter."

Suddenly he seemed to realize where he was. "Well, er, goodbye!" he said before following Luna through the floo.

Helen shook her head. "I will never get used to seeing that."

XXXXX

Harriet walked into the classroom a bit hesitantly. It wasn't so much that she was nervous, but that she really wasn't sure she belonged here. It was her first day in this new school and while that normally wouldn't faze Harriet, she was starting to wonder whether she could keep up with Hermione's class. It was an advanced class after all, and if anything, the last two years had lowered Harriet's achievement level. Hermione had assured her that she'd been making stellar progress, but Harriet was skeptical. Part of her recognized that as her Uncle Vernon talking to her. He'd never missed a chance to insult her intelligence. It had left her with a bit of anxiety regarding her academic performance. Well, she had plenty of time to work on that.

Harriet sat down next to Hermione, near the front of the class. A girl saw her sit down and walked over. "You don't have to sit here. There are plenty of seats in the back."

Harriet smiled, "I'm fine, but thanks."

The girl chuckled, "I'm trying to tell you that you don't want to be seen next to the walking brain. She's insufferable."

Harriet's smile turned dangerous. "And I'm trying to tell you that Hermione is my friend. So you'll leave us be. Unless you want my fist embedded in your face?" Harriet paused as the other girl pulled away, "No? Well maybe you should leave her alone then."

The other girl fled.

Hermione grabbed Harriet's hand and squeezed it. "I can be a bit insufferable though."

Harriet shook her head from shoulder to shoulder, as if to say yes and no at the same time. "A bit I guess," said Harriet, "But you try harder than anyone I've ever met. You've been there for me when I needed a friend, regardless of the fact that you didn't know me. Trust me, you more than make up for it."

XXXXX

Harriet did in fact struggle in her first couple of weeks at Hermione's school. But Harriet was nothing if not good at thinking on her feet, and she soon had improved her grades enormously. While other students in the class had tried to ostracize Harriet, they found this difficult to do as Harriet's quick wits would generally send any spoken insult back at its speaker, while Harriet seemed more than capable of dealing with any pranks sent her or Hermione's way. When someone replaced Harriet's drink at lunch with sour milk, those who had laughed hardest found themselves glued to their chairs. When someone had 'accidently' stuck gum in Hermione's hair, they found themselves days later with green hair that violated the dress code and were forced to go home.

A number of girls then tried to ambush Harriet in the loo. The incident had left three of them with bloody noses and Harriet in front of the Head Teacher. Luckily he was a relatively canny man and he realized what had happened before he'd even interviewed Harriet. Harriet had escaped without any real repercussions, while the offenders had their parents called. After that, there were no problems with the other students. A number of the boys were even willing to be friendly with Harriet and Hermione, though this probably had more to do with them trying to get Hermione to help them with their school work than any genuine desire for friendship.

Harriet had also kept in contact with Luna, Ginny and, surprisingly, Ron. Luna, of course, had written regarding her life, multiple times. A lot of those letters was just stream of consciousness, but Harriet saw that this was a distraction for Luna. Occasionally Luna would just come right out and say something was bothering her, but a lot of times she would have to interpret those letters to find what words of consolation she thought Luna needed. One thing that impressed Harriet was just how clever Luna was. It would be easy to look at how Luna acted and decide she was crazy. But she really was very smart. If only she could be convinced to turn that intellect towards something useful!

Harriet's letters to Ginny were more normal. Ginny was beginning to push against her old-fashioned upbringing in a lot of ways, and Harriet did nothing to discourage that. It wasn't that Molly Weasley was a bad mother either. But she did need some pushback from Ginny sometimes, as Molly seemed intent on wrapping her only daughter up as if she was a delicate vase being shipped to Australia. Still Ginny seemed to want advice on all sorts of things, and Harriet had no problem giving it.

Her correspondence with Ron had been unplanned. Hermione had been doing some very basic statistics, and Harriet had tried to learn it as well, just for something to do. She'd redoubled her efforts when she discovered that statistics could be used for Quidditch analysis. She'd sent a lot of her conclusions to Ron via owl post, thinking he'd find them interesting. And boy had he ever! He'd insisted Harriet teach him statistics, and she and Hermione had been corresponding with him on Quidditch and statistics respectively ever since. Hermione seemed to think their obsession with Quidditch excessive. But Harriet just laughed that off.

Living with Sirius had calmed down. Harriet really didn't want to go back to her aunt's. It wasn't that she hated her aunt, not anymore, but that she had come to love living with her godfather. He treated her like his daughter, and she was his daughter in every way that mattered. And while living at Grimmauld place she was just a floo call away if she wanted to talk to Ginny or Luna, and if they needed her she or they could just go on through. Luna had popped through once on her mother's birthday to just bury her face in Harriet's shoulder. Once back at Privet Drive, none of this would be able to continue.

Sirius had been great about this though, and the day before Halloween, he'd surprised her with a great big snowy owl. "You'll need her to stay in touch with your friends." Harriet had thrown her arms around his neck and covered his face in kisses for that one. Not only was the gift very thoughtful, but Hedwig (which is what she'd named the owl) was a truly magnificent creature.

Finally the day had come: Halloween. Sirius had called Harriet out of school that day, and they soon apparated to Privet Drive. Petunia started as they appeared in front of her.

"What if I had been standing there?" she said warily.

"We might have knocked you over," admitted Sirius, "We wouldn't appear inside you or some nonsense like that. And even if we had knocked you over, it would probably be from our momentum and not the actual apparition."

Petunia nodded with a decided lack of certainty.

Harriet and Sirius had decided that the easiest way to get to Godric's Hollow was to take the Knight Bus. Sirius could have apparated them there, but the idea of her aunt allowing herself to be part of a Side-Along Apparition had reduced Harriet to tears of laughter. Sending her through the Floo network seemed equally unlikely. Of course Petunia seemed to think she'd gotten the worse deal once they were actually on the Knight Bus, as to her mind, the driver was a maniac. That might or might not be true, but by the time they had reached Godric's Hollow, Petunia was more than willing to try to apparate home.

Harriet had dyed her hair and was wearing a headband again. There were likely to be other people paying their respects today, and if Harriet was recognized people were more likely to interrupt them. Sirius took them to the house first. There was a memorial there, and the house remained unchanged from the day that Voldemort had attacked it. A small crowd was there looking at the house from afar.

"So this is where they lived," said Petunia heavily, "I never did come out here."

Harriet looked at the house longingly. This could have...no, _should_ have been her home. Suddenly she felt an urge to go inside. She began to walk forward towards the house. She stopped on the front walk right where her father had died.

"Harry," said Sirius quietly, but she turned and shook her head.

"I have to. I'm sorry, especially after all the effort you went to help hide me," said Harriet. And she walked into the house to the shocked murmurs of the crowd.

The house was small, cozy even. Harriet climbed the stairs to the second floor. And then she turned into the nursery. The room was exposed to the elements, but the crib was still there, some form of magical protection no doubt keeping it intact. She laid her hand on it, and there was a sense of familiarity that resonated with her nascent magic. This place was a part of her.

"Excuse me miss," said a voice. Harriet turned to see a well dressed wizard, probably from the DMLE, who was likely assigned here today to keep out the gawkers.

"You aren't supposed to be here," he said.

Wordlessly, Harriet pulled off her headband.

The wizard immediately bowed his head in apology. "I'm very sorry Miss Potter, of course _you_ are allowed to be here."

The wizard left, and Harriet crouched down laying her hand on the floor in front of the crib. This was where her mother had died. Harriet closed her eyes and opened herself to her magic, letting it pool and collect in her. And that is when she felt it. It was like a fire burning inside her. But as it washed over her it did not destroy. It elevated her. And in that moment she realized what it was inside her. Her mother's love had marked her very blood, and in this place, at this time, she could feel it as alive as it had ever been.

"Thank you," she whispered. Then she turned and left.

Outside the crowd was still murmuring. But Harriet had not replaced her headband, so when they saw her the crowd went silent. She walked up to Sirius and hugged him, burying her face in his stomach. She noticed that her newfound awareness had not left her. She supposed now that she'd felt it, she could find it again at will. Yet she felt something else. It was like a pull, coming from her aunt. She pulled away from Sirius.

"I can feel the bond my mother created between us," she said to Petunia, "It's created by her love for me, but also for you. Whatever your differences, she did love you."

Petunia nodded, trying to hide the tears forming in her eyes.

Sirius directed them towards a nearby church graveyard. The crowd did not follow. Slowly Sirius brought them through the graves, till they reached the Potter's grave. Somehow it didn't seem to be enough. The headstone reduced their lives to just the years they had lived and the words "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."

"What does that mean?" asked Harriet.

Sirius looked at her oddly. "Well, it's a quote from the Bible, from Corinthians I think. What do you think it means?"

Harriet shook her head, "I just don't understand. My parents died. They didn't destroy death."

Petunia smiled, the first time Harriet had seen her truly smile in years. "Oh Harriet, they did." she said quietly, "You are probably too young to understand, but they did."

"I would suggest," said Sirius, "that you remember those words. Keep them close to your heart. When the time comes, I think you'll understand."

Petunia knelt by the grave. "I'm sorry Lily," she said, "I failed you. But I will do better."

Harriet laid her hand on the gravestone. There was no resonance here, not like in the house. Yet she felt something else here. A sense of peace. She didn't understand it, yet it comforted her nonetheless.

"I'm ready to go," she said finally. She realized that she had found something here, but she didn't fully understand it. Yet it had put her at peace with what was to come.

"I'm ready to return home," she said. Petunia nodded, a hint of a smile returning to her face. If Privet Drive wasn't home yet, Harriet was determined to make it one!

XXXXX

Gerhard Schraeder was a simple man. He and his family had followed and served the Solaire family for generations. That this practice had become frowned upon throughout the magical world meant little to him. He had spent much of his life trying to run away from that responsibility. And then the young Morgan Solaire had tracked him down. There was something about her, something that made him want to follow her. From then on, he'd followed her willingly. Still, she was three months late now, and he was starting to get worried.

When she walked into the small bar near the border between Yugoslavia and Albania, he relaxed in a way he hadn't in over a month. She was safe. He knew that he had no business prying into what she was doing, but he was sorely tempted to do it anyway. What had kept her so long?

"Sorry I'm late," said Morgan, "things in Britain got interesting, and then I had to stop in Norway to help excavate that new tomb. It was important enough that my not showing up would have been noticed. And that would have completely defeated the point of sending you here."

Gerhard nodded. "How interesting did things get?" he asked.

"Potter is no longer under the thumb of the Death Eaters," said Morgan, "and Sirius Black is now a major political player again."

"Both good things I am sure," said Gerhard, "But what does it have to do with us?" He had never understood her obsession with watching over Harriet Potter. She had an interesting history, no doubt, but it was her mother that had defeated the Dark Lord, not Harriet herself.

"Everything," said Morgan, "Sirius represents a major shift in the landscape of the Wizengamot. People don't realize just how anti-Statute of Secrecy he is. This could be a prelude to Britain joining those nations which wish to bring magic into the open."

"Foolishness," said Gerhard.

"No, it will be necessary very soon I think," said Morgan, "But if we have not completed our task before then, things could get troublesome. Any news?"

"Some, but nothing definite," said Gerhard.

"I've heard that we may have an ally here," said Morgan, "A man who is scheduled to be next year's Defense against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. Quirinus Quirrell."

"Quirrell?" asked Gerhard, now a little angry, "I did meet him. If I had known to contact him I would have. But someone didn't even write me a letter."

"No matter," said Morgan, "No one other than us is looking. Well except Barty Crouch Jr., but he thinks Lucius Malfoy is looking into it."

"He isn't I assume?" asked Gerhard.

"Of course not," said Morgan, "I would have hurried back no matter what if that was the case."

"Well Quirrell was hunting a vampire or something. Whatever it was, it was drinking the blood from its victims, but it didn't entirely seem like an ordinary vampire," said Gerhard.

Morgan suddenly looked very worried. "Is it just drinking blood or is it draining magical energy from its victims as well?"

Gerhard narrowed his eyes. How did she make these inferences? "Both blood and magical energy, yes."

Morgan's concern seemed to deepen. "That is no vampire," she said, "And we need to find Quirrell before he gets himself killed or worse."

XXXXX

It took Gerhard and Morgan five days to track down Quirrell's last known location. This led them to an abandoned camp in Albania. There had been signs of a struggle there. It took two more days to determine where he had gone from there.

Finally they found him camping out in the ruins of an abandoned church.

"Quirinus Quirrell?" said Gerhard, as they approached.

"Ah y-y-y-yes!" said Quirrell, "I remember you! From across the border."

"I am Morgan Solaire," said Morgan, "I heard you were hunting a vampire, I wished to lend a hand."

"Oh?" said Quirrell curiously, "Well, that is q-q-q-quite kind of you, but it is hardly necessary. I've come to doubt that there is a vampire at all."

"Oh really?" said Morgan. The slight edge in her voice alerted Gerhard that she now felt something was wrong.

"It is likely j-j-j-just a wild animal," said Quirrell. Gerhard immediately knew he was lying. Wild animals didn't drain magic from their prey.

"That _is_ fortunate," said Morgan, "Will you be returning to England soon then?"

"I do not know," Quirrell admitted, "though I have been contracted to be the Defense against the Dark Arts professor at Hogwarts next year."

Morgan nodded, "So you'll return then?"

"No," said Quirrell, "I'm starting t-t-t-to have other ideas. Actually, you wouldn't be going to Britain anytime soon would you?"

"I might," said Morgan.

"In that case, if you could deliver a letter for me to Albus Dumbledore," Quirrell handed Morgan a small envelope, "It expresses my regrets that I am not able to take up that position. I keep meaning to send this and I keep putting it off."

Morgan smiled. "Easily done," she pocketed the letter, "Now if there is no vampire to kill here, we must be off."

"Of course," said Quirrell.

Morgan walked out of the church at a normal pace. "Keep up a watch," said Morgan quietly, "There is a wraith in the area."

"A wraith!?" said Gerhard without really raising his voice. "How do you know?"

"Quirrell was clearly under its spell," she said, "Worse, the wraith is almost certainly the spirit of Lord Voldemort. We were too late."

"Could we save him?" asked Gerhard.

"Not without risking a confrontation with Voldemort," said Morgan.

"Couldn't you…" started Gerhard.

Morgan shook her head. "Voldemort has anchored his soul to this world somehow. No magic I possess can change that, not without learning how he is tethered. Even if I had such a spell, a battle with Voldemort in any form would be a massive risk. Even weakened as he is now."

"And so what do we do now?" asked Gerhard.

"Return to Switzerland. Though I will go on to Britain soon. I must deliver this letter after all," said Morgan, "After all, it would not do for a servant of Voldemort to become Harriet Potter's teacher."

Gerhard rolled his eyes, "They have a hard enough time keeping a Defense teacher without this!"

Morgan's eyes sparkled. "Perhaps I can do something there. I am the world's most famous curse-breaker after all."

Somehow, Gerhard didn't think Morgan's obsession with Harriet Potter was getting any better.

**Author's Note: **Gerhard isn't really going to be very important until much later in the story, but no reason not to introduce him. He isn't really important until parts 8, 9 and 10.

One thing that was important was that while Petunia and Dudley are both very upset about what happened to Harriet, the way she was initially treated by both of them is going to stay with her for a long time. Harriet is living with them solely because of the magical protections, though at least with the current way Harriet is likely to be treated it isn't completely insane to keep her at Privet Drive.


	8. Interviews

**Chapter 8: Interviews**

Spring had arrived in Surrey, and Harriet was starting to get a little bit stir crazy.

The last few months had finally seen a return to normalcy for Harriet. Aside from the holidays, which she had spent with Sirius, Harriet had spent the last several months living at Privet Drive. And she was starting to like it.

Of course she had been thrilled to see her magical friends over the holidays. But her friendship with Hermione had grown a lot as well, as had her friendship with Dudley. Dudley had changed a lot. Initially, he hadn't been sure how to feel about his father's imprisonment, but he'd come to see it as a generally good thing. Sirius had been by frequently and he'd given Dudley more than a little advice. Dudley had become much less of a bully as a result. Harriet still sparred with him a bit, though at their age it was less sparring and more play fighting. Dudley was bigger than her though, so she was constantly having to improve just to keep up with him.

Petunia was, if not necessarily loving, at least involved with Harriet's upbringing. Of course she did have some crazy idea that Harriet needed to act more like a girl (whatever that meant), but her success rate at getting Harriet to be interested in traditional girl things wasn't very good. Which wasn't to say that Harriet didn't like nice dresses or getting her hair done, within the right context. But these certainly weren't driving her. They didn't really drive Hermione either, Harriet noted. In fact, she had a feeling that a lot of this was a result of Petunia's own insecurity. She still believed she'd failed her sister in some way. Maybe she had, but this wasn't the way to make up for it, at least to Harriet's mind.

Harriet had continued her correspondence with Luna, and the girl was in a much better place now. She was now principally worried about her father, who really was a mess. Molly Weasley came over when she could to help out around the house, but she had her own family to care for. In some ways, Luna was having to take care of herself most of the time. Harriet was worried. It was still over a year before Luna would be going to Hogwarts. She needed to be kept grounded, as Harriet knew now that Luna had a tendency to confuse fantasy and reality. She hoped Ginny would stay on that. Ginny had taken Harriet's advice to heart and was now spending a lot more time with Luna. Hopefully it would help.

Hermione had become Harriet's best friend, though that was not without strain either. Harriet did enjoy learning things with Hermione, and her grades had skyrocketed this last term. Still, Hermione took things too seriously sometimes. Harriet often felt she needed to take time to relax and have fun. Learning was fun, but so was getting into trouble, something Hermione abhorred.

Today for example, Harriet was over at Hermione's house. Hermione was insisting they finish a paper that wasn't due until next week. Getting stuff done early was all well and good, but Harriet couldn't stand much more studying. Sirius hadn't been by for almost two weeks and Harriet felt a need to let loose.

"Let's go outside Hermione," said Harriet, "Maybe the fresh air will give us some ideas. Plus it's the first warm weather in ages."

Hermione thought about it. "It's still pretty damp out there. It just rained yesterday."

Harriet shook her head, "I don't care. I'm going nuts in here."

Hermione sighed, but then smiled. "I guess it couldn't hurt anything."

Outside was a bit gloomy still, the trees were just starting to bud. The ground was a bit of a morass of mud, with the grass still brown. Still, it was warm, and the air was filled with fresher scents than Harriet had smelled outside in months.

Hermione was still thinking about school, however. "We need to do our maths homework today as well Harriet don't forget. Oh and we still need to look up those books for our history presentation.

Harriet sighed. "Hermione, we're supposed to be taking a break," she said as she looked for something to do.

"But we do need to figure out how we're going to handle all this work Harry," said Hermione anxiously.

"Hermione, stop," said Harriet.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Please Harriet, I'm just trying to stay on target here."

Harriet sighed, and her eyes fell across the huge pile of mud that was Helen Granger's garden right now. Without even thinking about it she reached down and grabbed a handful of the mud, then threw it at Hermione. It hit her on the side of the head with a satisfying thud.

"What was that for?" said Hermione, who was too shocked to be angry.

"I don't know," said Harriet as she picked up more mud, "I'm improvising." And she threw more mud to hit Hermione square in the face.

"Oh that is IT," shouted Hermione as she scooped up a handful of mud and flung it at Harriet.

Five minutes later Helen Granger walked outside to see Harriet and Hermione in her garden, slinging mud at each other. They were both completely covered.

"What are you two DOING?" she demanded.

Harriet looked at her like she was crazy, "We're throwing mud," she said as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"_WHY?_" asked Helen desperately.

"Ummm…" started Harriet. She really hadn't thought this through.

"I think we might need a bath," said Hermione.

"Oh you aren't entering my house like that!" said Helen with a spark in her eyes, "Where is the hose?"

XXXXX

Petunia had been surprised to get a call from Helen Granger so early. But when she was told that Harriet would need a change of clothes, she had a feeling she knew what had happened. So she grabbed some clothes from Harriet's room and drove over to the Granger's house immediately.

"Harriet found the mud irresistible, didn't she?" said Petunia.

"Yes, she did. Though I will admit that once Hermione got covered she was just as enthusiastic about it." said Helen.

"Oh dear," said Petunia, "Both Harriet and Dudley are old pros at getting absolutely covered in mud. _She_ gets it from my sister Lily I think. She never had a problem getting her hands dirty. As Dudley is a boy, and Harriet might as well be, they tend to take it to extremes. Where are they now?"

There was a loud splash and a squeal came from the bathroom. "You're supposed to be washing my hair!" shouted a voice that sounded like Hermione.

"I let them take a bath together," said Helen regretfully, "And they're absolutely destroying my bathroom."

Petunia was having a hard time not laughing. "Well these things do happen." she said diplomatically.

"Hermione never acted like this on her own," stated Helen with an air of certainty.

Petunia couldn't quite bring herself to sympathise with Helen right now. Six months or a year ago she probably would have been hopping mad. But now, she realized that this was just part of raising a child.

"Wait that tickles!" screamed Harriet as the sound of more splashes came out of the bathroom.

"Serves you right!" shouted Hermione, "Now finish my hair, and make sure you get all the mud out!"

"It sounds to me like Hermione's enjoying it," noted Petunia.

Helen shook her head. "I can't argue with that."

Petunia went to the door of the bathroom. "Harriet, I'm leaving clean clothes by the door!"

"Thank you Aunt Petunia!" she shouted back.

Petunia chuckled to herself. "I have to say, it's been quite a day for me."

"Oh?" asked Helen.

"Dudley got in a fight at school," Petunia admitted, "He isn't really picking on other kids anymore, but he has a tendency to pick fights with the bullies now. While I admire his spirit, he shouldn't be fighting in school."

Helen gave Petunia a shrewd look. "You know, I think you've changed since Harriet first described you."

"Having your husband go to jail for beating you, your son and your niece can do that to you," said Petunia.

Harriet came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She grabbed the clothes on the floor and sprinted towards Hermione's room. Hermione followed her out, also wrapped in a towel.

"Sorry about the mess mum," said Hermione with plaintive face.

"Oh don't worry about it," Helen said as Hermione's face brightened, "Because you'll be cleaning it up!" She shouted the last as Hermione skipped towards her room.

"Along with Harriet!" shouted Petunia.

"I'm going to need to keep a closer eye on those two aren't I?" asked Helen.

Petunia nodded. That was an understatement.

XXXXX

Albus Dumbledore had a complicated and busy day in front of him, and it was all Sirius Black's fault.

Sirius's education reforms had been largely welcomed by the Hogwarts staff, but there had been large exceptions. Sybill Trelawney for example, had been horrified to learn that she would have to dramatically change her curriculum. On the opposite side Charity Burbage, the Muggle Studies professor, was excited to have new chances to study modern muggles. Dumbledore didn't even want to think about the Defense against the Dark Arts position, which had again become vacant just two days earlier when the last occupant had tripped and fallen three stories to his death. But nothing had caused Dumbledore nearly as much trouble as the History of Magic position. The main reason he had never tried to fire Binns was not because Binns gave his services for free, or because Dumbledore had any interest in protecting Binns's curriculum. No the problem was much simpler: The History of Magic position was considered very political, and Binns was rather apolitical, being a ghost and all.

This left Dumbledore with a lot of very difficult options. Lucius Malfoy had finagled a seat on the Board of Governors. This didn't give him veto power over new hires, but it gave him a platform to rail against whomever Dumbledore wanted to pick. This meant that Dumbledore needed to navigate a minefield of political landmines in order to make his pick. He was holding final interviews today, and while Dumbledore was fairly sure of whom he wished to pick, he knew it wouldn't be that simple.

The first candidate was a wizard named Reginald Travers. He was a pureblood of course, and elderly man with impeccable family connections. Dumbledore hadn't been impressed with his actual credentials, but Lucius had forced him to do a final interview with him. Very quickly into the interview, Dumbledore realized that Malfoy had overplayed his hand. Not only was this man highly biased against muggleborns, but the curriculum he was suggesting did not meet the new standards. Which meant that Dumbledore would be able to reject him out of hand. That was just as well, as his historical analysis seemed to concentrate on how any contact with muggles had damaged the magical world.

The second candidate was a witch named Elizabeth Engles. Her credentials were impeccable, as she had recommendations from many top magical historians. Unfortunately, when she began to discuss her curriculum Dumbledore immediately detected on over reliance on Bathilda Bagshot. Bathilda's _A History of Magic _was indeed a seminal work, but Bathilda herself admitted it was too gossipy and chatty. It probably would be better called _A Popular History of Magic_ given how uncritical it was of sources and stories. Engles was rather good at summarizing large events, but Dumbledore had to admit she wasn't going to be his first choice for the position unless the last candidate was much worse than he thought he would be.

That candidate was Remus Lupin. Lupin had studied under some of the best historians in Europe. He had published an excellent book on the history of werewolves, and when interviewed he had provided a modern, up to date curriculum. He was by far the most accomplished and qualified candidate.

And he was a werewolf. Which would cause a whole _other_ political problem if he was hired. The Minister for Magic would definitely be opposed if he wasn't approached in the right way. And the Death Eaters knew that Lupin was an enemy, so they'd mobilize hard against his appointment.

So after the interview, Dumbledore had floo called Barty Crouch.

"What is it Albus?" said Crouch, who was rather annoyed, "I don't have all day."

"I have completed my final interviews for the position of Professor of History for Hogwarts," said Dumbledore.

"I'm assuming there is a political problem then?" asked Crouch.

"I have a Death Eater apologist, an uninspired gossip, and Remus Lupin as my candidates," said Dumbledore.

Crouch's face grew stormy. "That's… unfortunate."

"Lupin is qualified…" started Dumbledore.

"He's a werewolf," stated Crouch.

"And he wouldn't be living on school grounds," said Dumbledore, "The History Professor rarely does historically, unless they are a head of house, it's just that Binns couldn't physically leave."

Crouch considered this. "He takes the Wolfsbane Potion, correct?"

Dumbledore nodded. "Not only that, but our Potions Master is capable of producing it. He would not be present on school grounds at all on the days of the full moon. Binns will still be around and will be able to sub on those days, based on Lupin's lesson plans. Binns can learn new information and retain it for a number of years, but anything he hadn't learned before his death does eventually fall out of his mind, such as it is," said Dumbledore.

Crouch sat silent for a moment. "I guess I'm fine with it. It will drive the Death Eaters crazy. And they can't go too strong against him on the werewolf angle, as if they ever try to rise up again, they'll need werewolf support."

Dumbledore smiled. Lupin's book had made him very popular in the werewolf community. That book had single-handedly turned public opinion against anti-werewolf policies. As a result, Fenrir Greyback and his werewolf purists had largely been rejected by the majority of werewolves. The Death Eaters wanted strife between werewolves and the rest of the wizards to drive them back to Greyback, but they couldn't manufacture it by being overly anti-werewolf themselves, as Greyback wouldn't support a faction that was openly calling for the restriction of werewolves. Greyback's policy of deliberately turning wizards into werewolves meant that the Death Eaters had to walk a fine line to keep the support of someone they detested.

"I'm glad we agree Minister," said Dumbledore.

With that taken care of Dumbledore was looking forward to figuring out just how to keep Sybill on staff, given her resistance to a modern curriculum. That was when Minerva walked in.

"There is someone here to see you Headmaster," she said, her tone vaguely questioning.

"I don't have any other appointments today," said Dumbledore, "Who is it?"

"Her name is Morgan Solaire," said Minerva.

Dumbledore stopped in his tracks. She had been operating secretly just a few months ago, when Sirius had informed him of her spying on the Death Eaters, and now she was coming to him? He didn't even know what she was doing yet. But maybe he was about to find out.

"Send her in at once," said Dumbledore.

Moments later a woman in her late 20's walked in. She had dark hair and compelling eyes. Dumbledore immediately sensed that this was a woman with confidence.

"Morgan Solaire," said Dumbledore, "I've heard a lot about you in the last few years."

"I assume one of the people you heard about me from was Sirius Black," she said, completely unfazed.

Dumbledore nodded. "Indeed. He was a bit suspicious of you."

"That's a good idea on his part," said Morgan, "But I'm not your enemy. The truth is, I've been monitoring the Death Eaters ever since the end of the war."

"You would have been how old then?" asked Dumbledore.

"Eighteen," she said, "My plans during the war were… poorly thought out. Luckily I never got a chance to actually put them in motion, and ultimately it puts me in a unique position. You see, I was trying to infiltrate the Death Eaters when Voldemort was defeated."

Dumbledore shook his head in shock, ignoring for the moment her use of Voldemort's name. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that would have been for you?"

Morgan shrugged. "It would have been very dangerous, but I am an excellent Occlumens." Morgan hesitated for a moment then seemed to get over whatever troubled her. "In any event, I likely have had a bit more access to the Death Eaters than you have."

"Likely indeed," said Dumbledore.

"We have had a very close call you see," said Morgan, "First, are you aware that Barty Crouch Jr. is a Death Eater?"

Dumbledore narrowed his eyes. "I...was not," he said honestly.

"No reason you should be," said Morgan, "He was almost immediately tapped as a deep cover operative in the Ministry when he joined up. Only a handful of senior Death Eaters knew his identity. I only know because he happened to speak to Karkaroff on November 1st 1981, which was when Karkaroff brought me in to join up."

This was very bad. Crouch would be very hard to take down without proof. His father was the Minister for Magic, for Merlin's sake! Dumbledore supposed Morgan might be lying. Yet why lie about this? Crouch Jr. had access to a lot of information, but otherwise he was still a Ministry small fry. He was the least important Department Head, as almost all real magical diplomacy was conducted via the ICW. Dumbledore supposed Morgan could be trying to take down Crouch Sr., but there were probably easier ways to do it than difficult to prove allegations against his son.

"What does Crouch Jr. have to do with this close call?" asked Dumbledore.

Morgan closed her eyes. "He's probably the most loyal Death Eater that isn't in Azkaban. So he has kept a constant watch for Voldemort's return." Morgan opened her eyes again. "Since he works in the Department of International Magical Cooperation, he has access to reports from all over the world. He recently identified a supposed vampire sighting near the Yugoslav/Albania border as potentially being Voldemort."

Morgan paused, clearly for effect. "He was right."

This wasn't news to Dumbledore, though it was news that a Death Eater had managed to discover it. He also continued to note her use of Voldemort's name. "I take it that he was unable to make contact with Voldemort?"

Morgan nodded. "He gave the information to Lucius Malfoy. Malfoy believes that Voldemort is gone forever. So he did nothing."

"Lucky for us," said Dumbledore. No, it wasn't that she was using Voldemort's name because she didn't know any better. She used it as a sign of contempt for him.

"Our luck has run out, unfortunately," said Morgan, "I sent a friend to take a look into things there. Not too closely of course, just to tap the rumour mill. I followed about a month back. I tried to look up a man who was in the area, a former Hogwarts teacher; Quirinus Quirrell."

"Quirrell was there?" asked Dumbledore suspiciously.

"At first I thought he was after the supposed vampire," said Morgan, "But when I met him, well, he had a stutter and was acting very strangely. He tried to convince me that the supposed vampire attacks came from an animal, even though the victims had been magically drained. He was lying. Whether he is mind controlled in some way or he is a willing servant, he has fallen under the sway of Voldemort."

"He is under contract to be our Defense against the Dark Arts Teacher next year," said Dumbledore in a horrified voice.

"Not any more," said Morgan as she handed a letter over to Dumbledore, "This is his letter resigning from the position. Apparently he felt he had bigger fish to fry."

Dumbledore frowned as he looked over the letter. The seal on it was marked with Quirrell's magic, as was his signature. It was authentic. "Voldemort won't like that. He'd have killed to have an agent in the school when Harriet Potter begins attending here."

"Quirrell seemed utterly uninterested in the school, though that might have been his personal preference rather than Voldemort's order. I doubt he had yet told Voldemort that he was to teach here next year."

"This is a lot to take in," said Dumbledore, "Do you think Quirrell is a threat?"

Morgan nodded, "It doesn't look like he is a Death Eater proper. If he was he'd have brought more of them in on Voldemort's whereabouts. But he definitely enhances Voldemort's ability to interact with the magical world."

"While I appreciate you telling me this, I am curious about one thing. Not to put too fine a point on it, but how do I know I can trust you?" asked Dumbledore.

"You already knew some of what I told you," said Morgan, "And I plan to make myself useful to you."

"How so?"

Morgan laughed as she shook her head. "Well, I'd like to apply for the job of Defense against the Dark Arts Professor."

Dumbledore was once again caught unawares. "What? Why? Surely you make more money as a famous cursebreaker?"

"I have reasons, and money has nothing to do with it," said Morgan, "I have enough money for the moment."

"One of those reasons being Harriet Potter?" asked Dumbledore shrewdly.

"Of course," admitted Morgan, "She is the key to the whole thing is she not?"

Dumbledore wasn't about to give anything away, "In what way do you mean that?" he asked.

Morgan rolled her eyes. "Headmaster Dumbledore, you've taken a very clear personal interest in Harriet's life. It's obvious that she has a major role to play if Voldemort returns. But I have more reasons than your obvious interest to protect her."

"You see," started Morgan carefully, "My family owes the Peverell family a debt. As Harriet is of that lineage, this helps repay that ancient debt. And…"

"And?" asked Dumbledore.

"I was impressed by her when I first met her," admitted Morgan, "It wasn't an accident I ran into her, though I hadn't expected her to free herself. I had planned to break her free and send her to the Grangers already, she just accelerated that plan."

"So you claim to be trying to protect Harriet?" asked Dumbledore.

"Yes," said Morgan, looking Dumbledore straight in the eye. He reached out with Legilimency. She was clearly blocking of parts of her mind, but her honest desire to help Harriet was present in the areas that weren't blocked. Maybe Morgan was very good at Occlumency, but if she was _that_ good, she could have hidden those blocks.

"Why should I hire you?" asked Albus.

"Because, I am the best curse breaker in the business today," said Morgan, "There is a reason why I am independent, while most other curse breakers have to work for organizations such as Gringotts. I know how to deal with most types of dangerous magical creatures and curses. I also trained under the Swiss Auror program. I was offered a position with the Aurors there, but since I paid my own way, I was able to turn it down."

Dumbledore was impressed. He hadn't known she had been trained by the Swiss. Swiss Aurors were considered the best trained in Europe. The training program was so good that the Swiss government allowed foreign governments and wealthy Swiss witches and wizards to buy access to the program without having to join the actual Swiss Aurors.

"There is a matter I should mention," said Dumbledore with some concern, "there is a curse…"

"Ah yes," said Morgan, "For decades no one has lasted at this position for more than a year."

"Quite so," said Dumbledore. This would probably drive her off. It drove off most people.

"Well I AM a curse breaker," said Morgan, "Why don't we consider this a test of my abilities."

Dumbledore hadn't considered that. Still, if she could remove the curse it probably meant that she wasn't in league with Voldemort. That is, if she knew that he was behind it. He briefly realized that if she had come a few days earlier and had removed the curse, this would have been a moot point, as the previous occupant would still have been alive.

"I assume Voldemort was behind the curse?" she asked.

Dumbledore sighed. He supposed if she was skilled enough to remove the curse she'd make a formidable candidate for the position. In any case, every action she'd actually taken in regards to Harriet so far had been helpful. She might bear watching, but so far she had given him no real reason not to trust her. Aside from her Occlumency, but there could be a number of reasons for that. There were things from Dumbledore's past that he definitely didn't want any of the students to find out.

"Yes," he replied, "He applied for the job years back, and I did not give it to him. No one has held the position for more than one year ever since."

"Hmmm," said Morgan as she thought, "I assume you have moved the professor's living quarters and classroom?"

"Many times," admitted Dumbledore.

Morgan considered for a moment, then pulled out her wand and cast a few detection spells at the empty air.

"Hmm, interesting," she said, "I see that the rumours that you have an Atlantean keystone are true. This place is a leyline confluence. There is far too much active ambient magic in the area for one particular spell to be detected, but there is also too much magic flowing through the castle for a curse like this to stick around unless it is anchored to something. I take it both the keystone and the school wardstones are not in an accessible location?"

Dumbledore nodded, "The Ministry of Magic actually uses the Hogwarts keystone as the primary anchor for the British national wards, and have since the formation of the United Kingdom. That entire part of the castle is sealed by the Ministry. Voldemort could probably break through those seals, but not without me knowing it."

Morgan thought for another moment. "Then the curse must be on the anchor stones."

"I have checked them for signs of interference," said Dumbledore.

"No offense," said Morgan, "While you are one of the most powerful wizards, probably of all time, you are not a curse breaker. While I am certain you have an extensive knowledge about how to deal with all sorts of dark magic, you aren't trained in curse breaking methodology."

Morgan cast another detection spell. "I assume there is a standard 16 point array of anchor stones?"

Dumbledore nodded again.

"Well, the strongest magical influx into Hogwarts comes from the south," she mused, "But that is in the lake, and I don't think the monster in the lake would take too kindly to Voldemort."

Morgan stopped. "What I really want to know was how proficient Voldemort is with Ancient runes."

"Well, I was a teacher here at the time he attended Hogwarts," said Dumbledore.

"So you know Voldemort's true identity?" asked Morgan incredulously.

"He is a half-blood named Tom Riddle," said Dumbledore, "Riddle excelled in all his classes, he was even Head Boy. And yes, he was skilled in Ancient Runes."

"But could he read actual Old Norse runes? Or did he just understand runic arrays?" said Morgan.

Morgan's eyes suddenly lit up. "But of course. Horcruxes!"

Dumbledore nearly fell over he was so surprised. "How do you know that Voldemort created horcruxes?"

"Well he obviously created some sort of soul anchor to keep his spirit alive," she said, "Since he is moving around it isn't a soul jar or something similar that would keep his soul confined. No he created at least one horcrux. But one thing I do know about horcruxes, they physically disfigure the one who creates them. And given the level of disfigurement he displayed towards the end, he created several of them."

"You know a lot about horcruxes," noted Dumbledore suspiciously.

"I'm a cursebreaker," said Morgan, "that's my job. But if you were wondering where I learned this, I once studied a copy of _Principles of Darkest Magicks_."

"Oh?" asked Dumbledore, his suspicions growing worse if anything. That book was reputed as one of the most dangerous instruction manuals on dark magic.

"They had a copy at Beauxbatons," said Morgan, "They let me study it for my seventh year project. Of course someone stole the book before I finished with it. But that couldn't have been Voldemort, as he had already probably created several horcruxes."

Dumbledore shook his head. "I suspect Riddle created his first horcrux here at Hogwarts, as a student."

Morgan looked at him in shock. "How? Did he just kill a student and get away with it?"

Dumbledore sighed sadly. "I believe so. I am certain he was responsible for the girl's death, no matter who took the blame."

Morgan shook her head. "Voldemort definitely didn't read about horcruxes from _Principles_. That book may have a bad reputation, but that was because it tried to popularize dark magic by discouraging the more…deranged practices. Horcruxes were definitely not on the list of things that book approves of. There was a book in Old Norse…"

Dumbledore shook his head as well. "No, the book we had in the Hogwarts Library was_ Secrets of the Darkest Art._"

Morgan snapped her fingers. "Then he probably can't actually read Old Norse, at least not fluently. We have him!" she said excitedly, "The second most powerful leyline flow comes from the north by northwest. I assume there is an anchor stone there?"

"Yes," Dumbledore said with uncertainty.

"Well, let's put this to the test!" she said.

XXXXX

The anchor stone in question was about 30 meters into the Forbidden forest. It was covered by a small bush, but Dumbledore pushed it aside to reveal the stone.

"No moss," said Morgan.

"I have the castle elves periodically clean the stones," Dumbledore admitted almost apologetically.

Morgan laughed. "I should have known it wouldn't be that easy." She bent down and read the stone.

Finally she leaned back and started laughing again. "Such a simple thing. Yet I bet you don't see it either. What do you see when you look at this stone?"

"I see a series of runic arrays," said Dumbledore.

"Of course, but these stones were laid by the Founders. They did more than put runes on some rocks," Morgan shook her head in admiration, "They wanted to create something meaningful. The arrays actually all represent stanzas in a poem. The anchor stones aren't just runestones, they're works of art that tell the story of the founding of Hogwarts. And by doing so they establish the magics that anchor the wards in place. Intent driven magic the likes of which you just don't see in this day and age, where everything is spells and formulas."

"How did you know this?" asked Dumbledore.

"The anchor stones of Beauxbatons are similar," said Morgan, "That isn't important. What is important is that Voldemort changed one of the runes, just a little. It looks fine if you are looking at it as a runic array. But if you try to read the poem…"

Morgan laughed again, "Well I don't think the Founders ever tried to eat Hogwarts."

Dumbledore was impressed, both by Voldermort's ingenuity, and by Morgan's ability to figure it out. "How did he do it?" he asked.

"He cast the curse as a spell, and then linked it to the rune, which is rightfully translated as consume," said Morgan, "Given that the curse consumes the Defense teacher, it works fairly well."

"Amazing," said Dumbledore. Now that Morgan had pointed it out, he could read the poem. His Old Norse was not great, but he could at least get the main point. And Morgan was right.

"How should we deal with this?" wondered Dumbledore, "We can't risk damaging the stone."

"Allow me," said Morgan. She cast a spell at the rune. A small orb of strange black light came out of the stone coming to stay balanced at the end of her wand.

"Could you take this for a moment?" asked Morgan, "If I let it go it will just snap back into the stone. But try to keep your wand a ways away from it if you can."

Dumbledore silently cast a holding charm with his wand, designed to hold an object in place. It should work on a spell effect. Morgan released the spell she was casting.

"Now stay back," said Morgan, "This spell is still a bit unpredictable."

Morgan pointed her wand at the curse. "_Annihilate,"_ she said.

A burst of pearlescent magic left her wand and struck the curse hanging in the air. And then it exploded.

Both Dumbledore and Morgan staggered backwards. The explosion hadn't been that large, mostly, Dumbledore suspected, as the curse hadn't had much energy in it. It had probably used the torrents of leyline energy that flowed through the anchor stone to power itself.

"Mind explaining that spell?" said Dumbledore good-naturedly.

"Anti-magic spell," obliged Morgan, "it sometimes explodes. I haven't figured out why yet. Though maybe naming the incantation after the matter and antimatter reaction didn't help matters."

Dumbledore couldn't help but smile at that. She wasn't the first witch or wizard to give a spell a very unfortunate incantation. Though if she could perfect this spell she could totally change the way magic was practiced!

"So," asked Morgan, "Do I get the job?"

Dumbledore laughed in spite of himself. He still had a lot of doubts about this. Still he was left with little choice. "I…" he started, not knowing what to say, "I will have to go to the Board of Governors, and I will have to conduct other interviews. Still, you make a very strong candidate." he said cautiously.

Morgan gave him a knowing look. Oh, she knew she had the position! But there was nothing for it. Dumbledore knew he wouldn't find anyone better at such short notice. He only hoped his fears were unfounded.

XXXXX

Quirrell was having a bad day.

Sometimes he wondered why he'd gone to help the Dark Lord regain his power. He hadn't had to do anything. He could have stayed out of it. But the truth was that he had been curious. How could the Dark Lord have survived his own Killing Curse? And Quirrell was interested in immortality. So he'd come to Albania in an attempt to aid the Dark Lord, and in exchange get the secrets of immortality.

Of course the Dark Lord had been rather reluctant to share his knowledge. And while it turned out that his shade might not be able to use spells in the way a wizard could, it had plenty of ways to make him suffer. Slowly but surely, the Dark Lord's will was overcoming his own. That was bad enough. But the Dark Lord was starting to ask about taking up residence in Quirrell's body. Quirrell wasn't stupid. He knew that was a death sentence.

They were now in Northern Italy, and it was obvious that the Dark Lord wanted to return to Britain. And then Quirrell had accidentally let slip that he had been engaged to teach at Hogwarts.

"I am most displeased with you Quirinus," said a voice that pounded in his mind, "You would have made a much better asset at Hogwarts."

"I-I-I-I understand my Lord," said Quirrell trying to maintain some semblance of his own will, "I know I have let you down, but I believe I can help make things right."

"How," said the Dark Lord's voice flatly.

"I know the location of the home of Nicolas Flamel," said Quirrel desperately, "The maker of the Philosopher's Stone."

"Yes, the Philosopher's Stone," said the Dark Lord, his voice mollified a bit, "That would have the power to restore me to life."

Quirrell sagged in relief.

"My worry is that the woman you let go may know something was up," continued the Dark Lord.

"What threat could she be?" asked Quirrel.

"That is not for you to decide!" shouted the Dark Lord, his voice so terrifying that it chilled Quirrell's very bones, "When it concerns my wellbeing, you bring any risks to ME!"

Pain shot through Quirrell's whole body. He had no idea how the Dark Lord was doing this, but it was the worst feeling he'd ever felt. The Dark Lord had assured him that this was nothing compared to the Cruciatus Curse. Quirrell couldn't quite believe that, yet he supposed the Dark Lord would be the expert.

"My apologies, my Lord," said Quirrell, "What must I do to appease your wrath?"

The Dark Lord laughed. "It is good that you do not ask for forgiveness, for I have none! Yet I can be merciful. We must return to England and begin to plan our theft. There you can show your remorse through action."

"T-t-t-t-thank you my Lord." said Quirrell. All he had to do was steal one of the most valuable magical artifacts from one of the oldest and most powerful wizards in the world.

It was still better than facing Lord Voldemort's wrath.


	9. A Threat Revealed

**Chapter 9: A Threat Revealed**

Albus Dumbledore sat back in his chair and smiled. Another year done, with the children off home again. Not only that, but most of his teacher problems had been dealt with. He'd managed to get waivers for Sybill and Charity, both of whom would be revising their curriculums for the year after next. In Charity's case it had been absolutely necessary, as the new O.W.L. and N.E.W.T. exams for that course would not be ready in time. Lupin's hiring had gone through with very little problem. Lupin and Black's tireless crusade to improve the image of werewolves had worked wonders there. Dumbledore was still worried about his new Defense against the Dark Arts instructor. But she was by far the most qualified candidate, and he couldn't exactly tell the Board of Governors that he didn't trust her because she used occlumency to block his legilimency.

Still, he didn't seem to think that Morgan was aligned with Voldemort. Despite that, her mysteriousness definitely worried him. On many occasions during his life Dumbledore had encountered powers working towards goals that he couldn't even fathom. The Unspeakables for example. They at least acted in a way that seemed at least semi-rational, trying to prevent dangerous knowledge from falling into the wrong hands as well as taking extreme action in cases with a serious breach of the Statute of Secrecy. Yet there were plenty of things they kept secret that Dumbledore did not understand. And then there were… others was the only way Dumbledore could explain it. He didn't know who or what they were, but they seemed to intervene in very dangerous situations, but only as it suited them. Was Morgan part of this group? Or was she just doing her own thing?

Fawkes suddenly appeared in front of Dumbledore. That was strange, he hadn't known the phoenix was gone. Only a few people could have summoned him. Whoever had summoned him had left a letter with Fawkes.

Taking the letter, he opened it. It read:

Headmaster,

Quirrell has returned to Britain. Saw him talking with Dung. You asked me to keep an eye out, so I did.

AM

Dumbledore sighed. He had been looking forward to having a rest for the summer. Well this obviously couldn't wait.

While ostensibly Dumbledore had disbanded the Order of the Phoenix after Voldemort disappeared, he had left several of his operatives active, continuing to report to him. Moody was the only active Auror left sending reports, but he probably would have kept it up even if Dumbledore hadn't asked. Barty Crouch had found out about it, but he had quietly told Dumbledore that he didn't care as long as he only used the Order to watch the Death Eaters. Snape still reported to Dumbledore of course, as did Remus Lupin on occasion. Andromeda Tonks still sent the occasional report if she saw curses that might have been used by Death Eaters. Sirius didn't file reports, but he always mentioned anything suspicious that he saw to Dumbledore every time they met.

Leaving his office, Dumbledore went to find Minerva. He had no idea how long he might be gone.

XXXXX

Mundungus Fletcher was the most disreputable former member of the Order of the Phoenix. He wasn't brave, or strong. His primary use to the order had been that he knew the wizarding underworld better than anyone else. Well, anyone else who opposed Voldemort. As a consequence, now that peace had broken out he considered himself a free agent, so to speak. Dumbledore was a little surprised that Quirrell would go to Mundungus, nonetheless. There was always the chance that he would try to sell the information he had to Dumbledore, and at a discount at that.

And of COURSE the place that Mundungus was at was the Hog's Head. Dumbledore disliked going to his brother's establishment. Not that he hated Aberforth, quite the opposite. But his brother had never forgiven him for what had happened to their sister. Understandable, since Albus had never really forgiven himself either.

Sure enough, Aberforth gave him a glare as he walked in. "What do YOU want?" he asked pointedly.

"I'm looking for Mundungus Fletcher," said Dumbledore.

Aberforth narrowed his eyes. "Now you're the third person to look for him today. First that Quirrell fellow, then old Mad-Eye, now you. What's going on, brother?"

Dumbledore frowned. He didn't like giving out information when he had so little to go on himself. On the other hand, this was Aberforth. He decided to at least warn him away.

"Quirrell seems to have made a new friend recently," said Dumbledore, "I want to make sure this new friend doesn't make an appearance in the flesh."

Aberforth's eyes widened. "Dung is in the back room," he said immediately. No, Aberforth knew what was at stake here.

Dumbledore walked into the back room. Mundungus Fletcher was there nursing a glass of Firewhiskey, and holding ice up to his head.

"Did you have an incident Mundungus?" asked Dumbledore.

"Headmaster!" said the man with a slight slur to his speech. "Just some fellows who were dissatisfied with the quality of some goods I sold them. No big deal."

"I heard you had a conversation with Quirinus Quirrell today," said Dumbledore.

"Word sure gets around fast," said Mundungus, "Has Quirrell done something?"

"Not yet," said Dumbledore, "I'm trying to keep it that way."

"Well it isn't good for a man in my position to be going around talking about the people he works with," noted Mundungus, "But given what he asked, I'm willing to talk for free. That man was just asking to get caught."

"Oh?" asked Dumbledore.

"He wanted a runic array that could break through defensive wards. Powerful defensive wards. Mind you, I'm talking about home defensive wards, not the really powerful wards like around the Ministry or Hogwarts. Said he needed it to be undetectable." Mundungus laughed. "I told him that I wanted a harem of young beautiful witches, but that it wasn't happening."

Dumbledore nodded. It was obvious that Quirrell was trying to get somewhere he wasn't supposed to be. It was also clear that he really didn't want to be caught. His own skills probably wouldn't suffice for robbing the home of a powerful witch or wizard.

"No idea who it was that he was planning on robbing?" asked Dumbledore.

Mundungus frowned for a moment. "Well I've rarely dealt with Quirrell before. But I did once. He was asking for books on how to make himself immortal. Some forbidden stuff. Well you know I don't like to deal in Dark Magic artifacts."

Dumbledore nodded. It was true that Mundungus didn't like dealing in dark magic. It was also true that he would, for a price.

"Anyway I couldn't help him. But now that I think about it, what's the one thing he could steal that would make him immortal?"

No, thought Dumbledore, not that. Please.

"I'm thinking he's going after Flamel. He has that Philosopher's Stone or whatever it's called. Makes the Elixir of Life. Might be up Quirrell's alley."

It would also be up Voldemort's alley. This was about as bad an outcome as Dumbledore could have feared. The Elixir of Life could definitely heal Voldemort. He had to warn Flamel.

XXXXX

Upon arriving in Devon, Dumbledore snuck up on Flamel's house. No use warning Quirrell if he was nearby. He Disillusioned himself and tried to walk quietly. He silently transfigured the gravel on the path to be soft and not crunch, it would return to normal in just a few minutes. The house itself was a small one floor cottage.

"Hello Headmaster," said the voice of a woman, very quietly.

Dumbledore turned to see Morgan Solaire perched in a tree. She was wearing muggle camouflage. He was still disillusioned. How could she detect him?

"You're very good at staying hidden, that's what gave away that it was you," said Morgan. "But low noise doesn't mean no noise. I'm a fair tracker, all things considered."

Dumbledore walked over to the tree. "Why are you here?"

"I'm after Quirrell," she said simply.

"How did you know that he was going to come here?" Dumbledore was really suspicious now.

"Quirrell has been obsessed with immortality for years now," said Morgan, "He tried to get Flamel to teach him how to make a Philosopher's Stone. Flamel refused, of course. And it struck me that Quirrell may have joined Voldemort to learn how to be immortal. Obviously Voldemort isn't just going to give that information up, but given that Voldemort is already functionally immortal, once he's used the stone he might let Quirrell keep it for him. He has been known to reward his servants in similar ways, or so I've heard."

"So how long have you known this?" asked Dumbledore.

Morgan shrugged. "A couple weeks?"

She'd definitely beaten him to it then. She seemed to read his mind because she quickly said, "It's less that I beat you to it Headmaster, and more that you have actual responsibilities at the moment."

"So you've been there all this time?" he asked.

"God no!" she said vehemently, "I came today, when Quirrell returned to Britain."

Dumbledore shook his head, then remembered that Morgan couldn't see him. "Why not just warn Flamel?"

Morgan shrugged, "I have nothing better to do."

Dumbledore was silent. Why did she have so much stake in this? What was her goal?

"I'm sure you'll forgive me, but I am having a bit of trouble understanding your motivations here." he said good-naturedly.

Morgan looked unsure for a moment. Then she sighed. "There are enough barriers separating muggles and magicals, without Voldemort adding to them. I want to stop a man who would make that barrier absolute."

Dumbledore knew that if she could see him, his eye would be twinkling. "You should definitely speak to Flamel, I think you two would have a lot in common."

"Really?" asked Morgan with exaggerated suspicion in her voice.

Suddenly a loud wail came from the other side of the house.

"Someone tripped the wards!" said Morgan as she leapt out of the tree. She glided towards the ground slowly, but seemed to be able to walk in mid-air at her normal rate of speed. A remarkable piece of magic, and Dumbledore suspected it was spontaneous. Was Morgan a true sorceress? That would explain a lot of her abilities.

Dumbledore himself went the other direction.

On the other side of the house he saw Quirrell. He was dodging spells coming out of the house. "Get out of here, thief!" shouted a voice, a woman's voice. That must be Perenelle, Nicholas's wife. Flamel himself burst out of the back door flinging spells at Quirrell. He dodged for a bit, but then Morgan opened up with stunners. Dumbledore joined in, his disillusionment falling off, and Quirrell fled.

"Huh, now this is a surprise!" said Flamel in flawless English, "Not only do I have to deal with a thief, but then my old friend Albus shows up to help deal with him, and with a young woman in tow. Has something changed Albus?"

Dumbledore nearly laughed in spite of himself. Flamel had a bit of a way about him. Always taking things lightly. "Morgan here has been hired as next year's Defense against the Dark Arts professor. But we were both tracking Quirrell independently."

"Morgan Solaire," she said, extending her hand. But as she took it, her eyes widened. She stared at Flamel in absolute shock.

"Something the matter?" Flamel asked.

"N-n-no, sorry," said Morgan, recovering as best she could, "You have an aura around you that... Well I didn't expect it."

Dumbledore knew what she meant. There was some strange feeling he got around Nicolas, and it wasn't just from his advanced age. But Morgan wasn't acting as if she didn't know what Flamel was. She was acting as if she recognized it and was genuinely surprised.

Flamel nodded. "I get that all the time," he said, "So that was old Quirinus I see. No points for guessing what he was after! As if he hadn't asked after it for years. I am a little disappointed that you didn't feel I could handle this one, Albus."

"I was merely coming to warn you," said Dumbledore, "Morgan was the one who staked out your house."

"Ah, I thought I noticed her!" said Flamel, "Good to know I'm not just getting paranoid in my old age. In any event, I don't need any help with the likes of him."

"It wasn't Quirrell we were worried about," said Morgan.

"It appears that Quirrell has taken up with the spirit of Lord Voldemort," said Dumbledore.

"Why on earth would he do that?" wondered Flamel.

"Greater witches and wizards have done more foolish things in the search for immortality," said Morgan. Dumbledore knew she wasn't referring to him, but nonetheless he felt a twinge of shame.

"True," said Flamel.

"The Stone could bring Voldemort back to life," said Dumbledore, "It needs to be moved to somewhere safer. I could house it in Hogwarts…"

"No," said Flamel, "I know a better place to hide it. Thank you for the offer, however."

"Nicholas," started Dumbledore, "This isn't the time to be stubborn."

"Headmaster, I think we can trust Flamel's judgement on this one," said Morgan. Oh she definitely knew something!

"Still," she said, "Perhaps a subterfuge is in order. Maybe Flamel could make an elaborately covert visit to Gringotts? That might throw them off the trail for a bit."

Flamel laughed. "Not a bad idea!" he said, "Don't worry Albus, I know what Voldemort getting the Philosopher's Stone would mean. I won't let it happen."

"Very well," said Dumbledore, realising that this conversation was over. "Be safe old friend."

"I will," he replied, "And if me and my wife seem to disappear for a bit, just know that you can always get a hold of me with that phoenix of yours." And he walked back into the house.

"Odd man," said Morgan.

"Do you, by chance, know where Flamel intends to take the stone?" asked Dumbledore.

Morgan cocked her head a bit, then simply said "Yes."

"And you won't tell me?"

Morgan smiled. "For the same reason he won't tell you. If you don't already know, you don't need to know."

Somehow Dumbledore was beginning to suspect that this would be a long year.

XXXXX

"Who was that woman?" Perenelle Flamel asked her husband as soon as the two interlopers were away.

"Morgan Solaire. I don't know her. But she recognized what I was right off the bat," Nicolas said unhappily, "There was something about her as well. I haven't ever felt what I felt then before. It was like an echo or a recognition."

"What are we doing?" asked Perenelle.

"We are going into hiding with the Stone." said Nicolas.

"Surely things can't be that bad," said Perenelle.

Nicolas shook his head. "Even if I am wrong about this Morgan woman, I will not allow Tom Riddle to get the Philosopher's Stone." he shook his head. He'd met the man once, years ago when he'd still been a teenager. He'd known immediately that he was trouble.

"Maybe we need help," said Perenelle her voice suggesting more.

Flamel gave her a blank look. "We'll ask."

That was all he could promise after all.

XXXXX

For Harriet, today was a big day. In a way her entire life had led to this moment. Today was the day she finally would begin to unlock the magical world. Today was her eleventh birthday.

She'd spent the last month living with Sirius again. This time she'd been able to properly enjoy the experience. Sirius was working on another bill with Arthur Weasley, but this one was more of a slow burn and didn't require him to put in nearly as much work in at the moment. She'd had the chance to visit most of her friends again. Luna seemed to have mostly recovered from the death of her mother. Not that she wasn't sad about it still, but she had long since adapted to her mother no longer being a part of her life. Most of her letters now just detailed the things she found on her explorations, which Harriet enjoyed trying to figure out if they were real or just more of Luna's imaginary creatures.

Ginny was beginning to show signs of panic in her letters. Her brother Charlie was gone, having received a job at a Dragon preserve in Romania. This meant that once Ron went off to Hogwarts she'd be spending most of her time alone with her mother. Harriet liked Mrs. Weasley, but she could be a bit much at times. Harriet had suggested that Ginny invite Luna over more. Luna was showing signs of going a bit wild actually, as her father had been slowly becoming more and more distant. Spending time with Ginny and her mother would probably be good for her.

But today, Harriet wasn't worried about any of that. Today she and Hermione were going to go to Diagon Alley. Technically, Hermione could have bought her wand months back, but she couldn't have used it anyway. So she had waited to buy her wand as well. But with only a month to go they'd resolved to go buy their wands together.

This time they'd traveled to the Leaky Cauldron together. Harriet didn't bother disguising herself this time. This was her grand return to the magical world, at least in public, and she wanted to be seen. Not that she was thrilled about the idea that her going shopping would probably make the papers, but Harriet had to take control of her life sometime, and now was as good a time as any.

The response she had received in the Leaky Cauldron was a bit overwhelming all the same. A mob of people all thanking her for something she didn't remember. However, one figure did not seem eager to meet her. A strange man wearing a turban started sneaking out the moment she walked in.

Sirius noticed this as well. "Quirinus Quirrell," he said roughly, "Dumbledore told me to watch out for him. Whatever happens today Harriet, do not run off without me. Do you understand?"

"Perfectly," she said.

They stopped by Gringotts first. Harriet made her usual small talk with the goblins. Hermione, on the other hand, was taking notes.

"What are you doing?" asked Harriet.

"I was going to ask the same question," said the goblin clerk.

"I am just writing down my impressions of Gringotts and goblins," she said, "Harriet tells me that most wizards try to act as if you don't exist. I'm just trying to avoid doing that."

"Hermione," said Harriet kindly, "maybe you should just talk to them."

"While I appreciate you leaping to our defense Miss. Potter," said the clerk, "It isn't necessary. Rest assured, when we goblins meet with your wizard leadership, we take copious notes."

Hermione looked a little smug for a bit, at least until the goblin Griphook was loading them into the cart to go to Harriet's vault. Hermione hated roller coasters. By the time they got to Harriet's vault, Hermione looked a bit queasy.

Harriet withdrew a fair amount of gold. While Sirius was paying for her school things, she felt it would be nice to have some money to buy a few extras, as well as have some spending money for the year. But just as she finished loading the sack an alarm began sounding through the Gringotts tunnels. Griphook ushered them into Harriet's vault. With a snap of his finger the door shut.

"What's happening?" said Hermione.

"Someone just attempted to gain illegal access to one of the vaults." said Griphook. "They won't be able to stay in the tunnels long though. Once you trip our alarms your only hope is to escape before our numbers overwhelm you."

A few minutes later a tone sounded. "All clear," said Griphook, "Let's get you out of here."

When they arrived back in the lobby, the Grangers and Sirius both seemed incredibly relieved.

"We should never have let you go down there," said Helen.

"Oh Mum, we weren't in any danger," said Hermione, "Griphook sealed us in Harriet's vault until the danger passed."

"Well, if that person couldn't get into any of the vaults, why were they there?" her mother countered.

"I mean they could have_ tried_ to get in," said Harriet, "but by the time they did the goblins would have caught them."

"Gringotts is very secure," said a goblin who walked up to them, "My name is Blisteraxe, and I wish to apologize for the inconvenience you suffered today. Luckily, while a trespasser did infiltrate our security, they only gained access to an empty vault which did not have a full suite of security spells on it. Your daughter was quite safe inside the Potter vault."

"That's a bit reassuring," said Helen dubiously.

"Thank you very much for the update," said Robert.

Harriet couldn't help but notice that Helen had cooled towards her a lot since the incident with the mud. She wasn't exactly sure why, but had to admit it was a bit confusing.

"We still have a lot of shopping to do," said Sirius.

XXXXX

Harriet already had Hedwig, so she decided that her extra this year would be a new broom. She might not be able to bring it with her for her first year, but by Merlin she'd be able to say she had a Nimbus 2000 to anyone who asked! She also bought a bunch of books. Hermione had been jealous, but Harriet's promise to let her borrow them immediately mollified her.

But now they were here, standing outside Ollivander's wand shop.

Harriet felt a rush of excitement as she walked in. There were wands stacked everywhere. It reminded her of a lot of muggle antique shops she'd been dragged to by her aunt. An old man with strange silver eyes popped out of the back suddenly.

"Ah, two new witches, getting their wands," he looked to Hermione, "You are?"

"Hermione Granger," she said quietly.

"I am Garrick Ollivander Miss Granger, and I am pleased to meet you," he said. Then he turned towards Harriet and she immediately knew why Hermione had gone quiet when he'd looked at her. It felt like he was staring right through her!

"Miss Potter, of course, needs no introduction," he said, which caused Sirius to scowl a bit.

"Now let us start with Miss Granger, as I suspect that Miss Potter will require some effort to find the correct wand for her," said Ollivander.

"Don't we just pick one?" asked Helen, who was clearly puzzled.

"The wand chooses the wizard," said Harriet, "In theory any wizard can use just about any wand, but the wand that chooses you will always give you the best results."

"Quite so!" said Ollivander, "Each wand has its own subtleties. They are designed to suit the most eclectic of witches and wizards."

"I suppose that makes sense," said Helen.

Ollivander gave Hermione several wands. The first he placed in her hand and it did nothing. The second started screeching horribly when she took it. The third wand made a lackluster WHUMP, and scattered sparks everywhere.

"Hmmm," said Ollivander, "Those were odd reactions. Unless…" Suddenly he ran back into the back and came back with a more delicate looking wand that had vines carved on it. He placed it in Hermione's hand, and immediately it started glowing.

"Yes! Vinewood, with dragon heartstring," said Ollivander, "Dragon heartstring is the most powerful of the wand cores that I use. Vinewood is a relatively rare wood. It indicates a witch with a great deal of hidden potential, who has the capability to pick many different paths, but has not yet decided which she wishes to take."

Hermione beamed as she held her wand. "This feels amazing! I've never felt anything like this before!"

Ollivander turned to Harriet. "Now let us see what we can do for you."

Over a score wands later, and Ollivander still hadn't found a match for Harriet. "I had a feeling you'd be a difficult one," said Ollivander, "but no worries, I have plenty of wands. One of them will certainly work."

Harriet had to admit she was feeling a bit foolish as wand after wand rejected her. She wondered what would happen if none of his wands did pick her. Would she have to go to another wandmaker?

Suddenly Ollivander came out with a box wrapped with a green ribbon. Ollivander pulled off the ribbon. "This is a very special wand, a one of a kind. Perhaps…" he trailed off as he pulled the wand out of its case.

"11 inches, Holly, with a phoenix feather core," said Ollivander.

This wand was something else. It had a carved handle, with smooth, wavy lines. At the end of the wand was what looked like a space for a stone or gem, like a sword pommel, but it was empty. The moment Harriet took it in her hand, it felt right, and a strong yet subtle glow seemed to surround her.

"Sometimes a wandmaker does not choose to make a wand,"said Ollivander, "Sometimes the plan for a wand just comes to him, like a form of divination. This wand was made for one person. And that is you."

"What do you mean?" asked Harriet.

"This wood is Holly, meant to contain the fury of a hero. A questor's wand. But the core, the core is an augmented phoenix feather, wrapped in a dragon heartstring."

"What?" asked Sirius, "Is that even possible?"

"For the right person yes, but no one else could use this wand well, unless they also had a double affinity like Harriet. But more importantly the augmented core makes it very durable for extended use. It isn't necessarily more powerful than a regular wand, but you can use it at its maximum power for a very long time without worrying about damaging it."

"And the pommel?" asked Harriet.

"A long time ago people used spell focuses on their wands," said Ollivander, "It isn't necessary with modern wands, or even well crafted old wands, but this is the image of the wand that came to me. I think it will make more sense in time."

"But the most interesting thing is the phoenix feather. A phoenix feather is flexible you see. But this one, well the phoenix who gave this feather gave one other feather. Just one. And…" Ollivander glanced at Sirius and Harriet.

"It was in the same wand that gave you that scar," said Ollivander as he pointed at Harriet's forehead.

Hermione gasped, and her parents suddenly looked very worried. Sirius didn't blink.

"I take it that this doesn't surprise you?" said Harriet to her godfather.

He shook his head. "I didn't expect it, but it doesn't surprise me in the slightest."

She turned to Ollivander warily. He was a creepy old man, but he had been helpful. "Thank you," she said politely.

"Miss Potter, in all likelihood, this wand will be my greatest legacy. Please, use it well," Ollivander pleaded.

She nodded. Dammit, what wasn't Sirius telling her? She needed to know!

"Harriet, I know that look," said Sirius, "There is a reason we haven't told you everything yet."

"I think," Harriet said, weighing her words carefully, "that we should talk about this more later. In private. But I am not dropping it. I need you to be honest with me Sirius. I can get that maybe I didn't need to know before I got my wand. But now…"

Sirius nodded noncommittally.

This day was just full of terrible surprises.

XXXXX

When they returned to the Leaky Cauldron there was one last, horrible, encounter. Lucius and Narcissa were there, with a young blond boy who could only be Draco.

"Black," said Lucius, who was pointedly ignoring the Grangers.

"Sirius," said Narcissa, with notably less hostility.

"Lucius, Narcissa," said Sirius.

Draco seemed to notice something was up, but apparently he hadn't quite put the pieces together yet.

"I haven't met either of you yet," said Draco with what seemed to be a superior smirk. Harriet was trying so hard not to judge him based on his parents, but he was not making it easy.

"I'm Hermione Granger," said Hermione.

Draco still hadn't recognized the name Granger, which indicated that Lucius probably hadn't fully shared his humiliation of a year ago with him. "That's not a normal magical name."

"That's 'cause she's a muggleborn," said Harriet.

Draco wrinkled his nose. "You a muggleborn too?"

Harriet was actually somewhat relieved that Draco didn't know her by sight. It gave her some hope that her fame might wear off. Someday.

"No, but there's nothing wrong with it," said Harriet, "after all, my mother was a muggleborn and she defeated Voldemort."

Draco's jaw hung in shock, while both of his parents inhaled in a hiss. "You dare?" said Lucius.

Harriet rolled her eyes, "It's just a name. Anyway, if anyone gets to say it it's me. Oh and I'm Harriet Potter, unless you already figured it out Draco."

"I'm not afraid to say it either," said Hermione, "Voldemort."

Draco's eyes bulged, "How dare you sully his name you… you… you mudblood!"

Instinctually Harriet's hand formed a fist as she started to lunge for Draco. But a grip of iron grabbed her wrist instead.

"While Mr. Malfoy certainly deserves a punishment for what he just said, that certainly does not include assault," said a familiar voice. Harriet looked up to see Morgan Solaire holding her wrist.

"I think you should move along Mr. Malfoy," she said, addressing Lucius.

"Who are you to be giving my father orders!" shouted Draco.

"I didn't give any orders, I gave him advice," said Morgan, "And who I am, is your Defense against the Dark Arts instructor."

"And the advice you gave us was good," said Narcissa as she gave her husband a withering stare. She turned back to Sirius. "Farewell cousin," she said as she began to drag her husband and son away.

"Narcissa isn't all bad I guess," said Harriet.

"What brings you to Diagon?" said Sirius, overly casually.

Morgan laughed at his obvious attempt to cover his suspicions of her. "I'm meeting a friend. But he's late."

Harriet knew Sirius still suspected Morgan of having ulterior motives, but Harriet had decided that she owed Morgan a big enough favour that she could give her the benefit of the doubt for now.

"This day has been crazy," said Harriet, "First there was an attempted break in at Gringotts."

Morgan giggled, "So did old Quirrell manage to steal something?"

"I don't know that it was Quirrell, but the vault that was broken into was empty," said Sirius.

Morgan laughed out loud, "Oh, when he gets back to his master, it's going to hurt him!"

Sirius grinned at that thought, though it made Harriet a bit uncomfortable. Was Quirrell serving Voldemort?

"Anyway, I'd love to catch up, but I do have a meeting," said Morgan, "But I'll see you at Hogwarts!"

And with that she was gone.

"Weird," said Hermione.

Harriet had to agree.

Sirius wasn't done though. "Harriet, you and I are going to have a talk about when it is appropriate to use violence."

Somehow Harriet knew that this was going to push her talk about Voldemort back a good long while.

XXXXX

Quirrell made his way into the hollow that Lord Voldemort had made his den.

"Did you acquire the stone?" said the Dark Lord.

"I'm sorry my Lord," said Quirrell, "The vault was empty. It did not appear to have been opened in decades."

The Dark Lord hissed at Quirrell. "So far, this has been a failure."

"There is another option!" said Quirrell desperately, "the Holy Grail is said to have all the healing powers of the Philosophers Stone."

"Do you know where it is?"asked Voldemort dangerously.

"N-n-n-n-n-no," said Quirrell nervously.

"Hogwarts!" shouted Voldemort, "It was last seen at Hogwarts! And due to your incompetence, we have no way in! The time has come for me to take more direct action." Suddenly the shadow that was Lord Voldemort lunged forward, into Quirrell's body.

Quirrell was immediately wracked by the worst pain he'd ever imagined. After several minutes it ended. Had that been it?

"_Oh no_," said the voice that was now in his head, "_That isn't it at all."_

XXXXX

Gerhard finally saw Morgan come into the private dining room he'd rented. "You're late," he said.

"I ran into Malfoy and Potter," she said, "And it took you over a month to get here."

"Karkaroff was tailing me," he said, "I needed to make sure he didn't know I was heading to Britain."

"Anyway, we have a new problem. I recently met Nicolas Flamel. And the moment I met him I knew."

She stopped. If she told him anymore Gerhard guessed he might have enough information to start guessing her secret.

She shook her head, "I have to trust you, of all people. Nicolas Flamel is a Guardian of Atlantis."

"What? How do you know?" asked Gerhard.

"He has the blessing of Avalon," said Morgan.

"What?" asked Gerhard, "I don't understand. What is that, and how do you know what it is?"

"The blessing of Avalon is a power that is bestowed upon the Guardians of Atlantis by the Avalon Atlantean Keystone," said Morgan, "And I know what it is because it was once bestowed upon me. And Flamel noticed, but he didn't recognise it, fortunately."

"Fortunately?" asked Gerhard as he realised that he was about to discover Morgan's secret.

"It happened a long time ago, and I'm sure they still tell stories about me. In fact I know they do."

Morgan smiled. "You see, I am, or rather I was, the Dark Witch of Avalon herself. I was the one you call Morgana le Fay."

And for the first time in all his years of working for Morgan, Gerhard was speechless.

**End of Part 1**

**Coming Soon: **

**Part Two of Harriet Potter and the Guardians of Atlantis: Harriet Potter and the Holy Grail**

**Author's Note:** And that is that. Part 2 is written, but I won't be posting it until I finish writing Part 3. I have two more chapters to write in Part 3. After that I will have to do some editing and fixing of Part 2. I will update my profile to show that Strange Witch is complete and I will probably list the names of parts 3-10 at that time.

Majere, I too am disappointed in Sirius for not apologizing to Snape. Unfortunately Sirius will not do that unless he is certain that Snape will accept his apology. And Snape won't. He honestly believes that Sirius tried to kill him. Sirius is just so ashamed that he will not put himself in a position where he can have his apology rejected by Snape like that. It is good that you mentioned it though, as it is a pretty important piece of Sirius' characterization.


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